Island Park superintendent responds to state audit

Dr. Rosemarie Bovino, the superintendent of the Island Park Union Free School District, is reassuring parents that funds were not misused after an audit from the state comptroller's office reported that the district kept $1.7 million in its reserves.

The audit used data from the 2007-08 school year. According to the comptroller's office, the money should have stayed in the school's general fund, and could have been used for tax reductions and as a source of funding for school programs.

The audit also reported that the district allocated $526,215 more than it needed to its Employee Benefit Accrued Liability Reserve, which it uses to pay earned time and other benefits to employees when they leave their jobs. But according to the audit, the district over-funded the account.

Bovino said that the audit’s results are misleading, and that it is typical for the district to set aside approximately 4 percent of its annual budget -- in this case, $1.2 million -- for its reserve fund.

Furthermore, Bovino explained, the district set aside the more than half a million dollars -- much less than it was projected that the school would actually need for the fund -- based on the findings of an actuarial report and on the advice of auditors and attorneys. She said that the comptroller's office had also advised school districts to begin setting money aside for the employee benefit fund, and added that state legislation to extend the size of the fund was pending in Albany, but never passed as expected.

“The most important thing,” Bovino said, “is that there were no improprieties, there was no misappropriation of funds, and there were no material weaknesses with respect to financial operations that put the district at risk.” She added that no additional money would be put in the fund because the legislation to expand it has not been passed.

Bill Reynolds, a spokesman for the comptroller's office, said the results of the district’s audit are not all that different from audits performed at schools across New York state. He explained that the audits are not meant to catch school officials off-guard, but rather to point out weaknesses in budget allocation and suggest how funds might be better used. The results are also made public so taxpayers can keep track of where their money goes.

Bovino noted that because the audit used data from 2007-08, many of the other issues raised by the comptroller's office have already been addressed, and changes were implemented where they were necessary.

The entire audit, including recommendations and responses from the district, is at www.osc.state.

ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2009/islandpark.pdf. A full statement from the district can be found on its Web site, www.ips.k12.ny.us/home.