By:Nick Buglione
Following the revelation of fiscal improprieties in the Roslyn and William Floyd school districts, New York state Comptroller Alan Hevesi announced in August that his office would undertake detailed audits of five local school districts and limited audits of 16 others, including East Meadow and Baldwin, covering only administrative and board expenses.
The Baldwin audit was the first to be completed, and no evidence of wrongdoing was found. Auditors from the state comptroller's office are still reviewing East Meadow's financial records, though the investigation is winding down, according to the school district's deputy superintendent, Leon Campo. "Their goal is by the end of the month to at least have completed their field work," Campo said, adding that auditors would begin working on their report shortly afterward.
This is the second time in as many years that the state comptroller is auditing the East Meadow district. In September 2002, the comptroller initiated an investigation into the 2001-02 school year, after receiving numerous complaints from concerned residents about the district-s fiscal practices. Allegations of financial mismanagement began to surface after the school district revealed plans to lay off teachers, cut programs and raise taxes in the 2002-03 school year, which had residents up in arms.
Though the first audit did not yield any substantial improprieties, it did criticize the district for inappropriate spending on meals, unauthorized side trips and airline tickets.
District officials felt that the relatively minor findings vindicated it of any charges of financial mismanagement, while critics in the community feared that it only scratched the surface. Continued complaints from those critics are in part what prompted the comptroller to audit the district again, a spokesman for Hevesi said.
Auditors are currently examining administrative and board expense records from the 2002-03 and 2003-04 school years, as well as the first two months of the current school year.
Although East Meadow's is only considered a partial audit, Campo said that auditors have requested a large volume of records, and are being quite thorough. Purchase orders, claims, vouchers, cash receipts as well as the district's policy on travel are among the records that have been requested, he said.
The district is cooperating fully with the audit, and anticipates that it will yield no evidence of wrongdoing, Campo said.
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