State audit: Lindenhurst schools didn't properly record $130,000 in funds collected
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. His office announced the Lindenhurst schools audit report Wednesday.
Credit: Howard Simmons
Lindenhurst school officials failed to ensure that more than $130,000 in funds collected from recreational and educational programs were properly recorded, deposited and reported, increasing the risk of potential losses, according to a new report from the state Comptroller's Office.
"As a result, there was an increased risk of improper accounting of and potential theft of collections without detection," stated the audit report released last month and announced Wednesday. The report did not cite evidence of theft, however.
The report, based on an audit conducted between July 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2022, also found dozens of incidents in which employees were tardy in properly depositing the funds.
Based on their findings, state auditors recommended Lindenhurst employees maintain a log recording the date, amount and payer of program funds, and that they also update the district's policy to ensure timely deposit of funds collected.
In response, Vincent Caravana, the district's superintendent, informed the state July 3 that corrective action had been taken, and that a formal corrective plan would be filed within 90 days of the audit report being finalized.
"We find the Report to be accurate and a useful tool in helping the district to better identify improvements in our internal control environment," Caravana stated in a letter to the comptroller's regional office in Hauppauge. The office acknowledged Lindenhurst's plan to take corrective action.
Under law, the Comptroller's Office serves as a watchdog agency, conducting periodic fiscal reviews of the state's more than 600 school districts and other branches of government. The Lindenhurst review covered five district programs serving students, teachers and residents, including adult education, swimming lessons and pool usage, driver education, performing arts and professional training offered teachers by the state.
As part of their inquiry, auditors checked $311,876 in user fees and other money collected by the district's business office from the five programs. What auditors found was in-person collections totaling $130,568 were not recorded in a log.
Auditors also looked at whether funds were deposited in a timely manner, setting 10 days as a reasonable limit. Auditors then reported that while deposits were intact and amounts agreed with those listed on transmittal forms, they were not always timely.
To the contrary, 25 of 102 transactions, totaling $29,639, were deposited in a bank between 11 and 26 days after the date that the programs prepared transmittal forms. In two cases, collections by the training program for teachers were deposited 24 days after transmittal forms were prepared.
"The longer money remains undeposited, the greater the risk that loss or theft can occur," auditors stated.
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
