Southampton School District Budget Management Needs Improvement, Audit Finds

Southampton School District officials agreed with auditors’ findings that administrators need to better manage the district’s fund balance and reserve funds, according to an audit released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.

Auditors found that the district had accumulated a fund balance of $21.6 million after school officials underestimated revenues and overestimated expenses in annual budgets, resulting in reserve accounts being overfunded.

“Had district officials used historical trends and included more reasonable budgetary estimates for all  revenue and expenditure accounts, the district would have been able to reduce property taxes and  actually use the fund balance it appropriated to finance operations,” auditors stated in the 17-page report.

The state recommended that moving forward, the district should adopt budgets that “include realistic estimates for revenues and appropriations” and maintain a more reasonable fund balance.

“Going forward, we will implement additional review procedures to validate budget assumptions and projections before finalizing the adopted budget,” Jacqueline Robinson, president of the Southampton Union Free School District’s board of education, wrote in response to the audit. “We will develop and adopt a comprehensive reserve policy plan that outlines the purpose, funding levels, and appropriate use of each reserve fund maintained by the school district. This policy will provide greater transparency and accountability.”