The Seaford School District was subject to a multiyear state audit that found the district did not maintain complete and accurate capital asset records, according to the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
“Auditors determined that while assets totaling $1.7 million were inventoried, the district’s inventory records lacked sufficient detail to account for and safeguard the assets,” the audit report issued Nov. 21 said.
The audit was conducted from July 1, 2021, to May 31, 2023, and was then extended to July 17, 2023, to review the district’s most recent inventory list, according to the report. It concluded that because district officials did not maintain complete and accurate inventory records, there was an increased risk that the district’s assets could be lost, stolen or misused.
“Without adequate records to confirm that assets were disposed of and properly sanitized by the E-waste company, officials cannot ensure that district assets were properly disposed of,” it said.
The audit said $196,089 in assets were not inventoried and $42,314 in assets were missing and could not be located. It also said the inventory list did not include all necessary information to locate and identify assets.
According to the report, 358 IT assets on the district’s inventory list, totaling $1.7 million, lacked a serial number, and 280 assets totaling $630,009 lacked their current location recorded on the inventory list.
The audit lists several recommendations to Seaford’s Board of Education and district officials: have the board update the district’s inventory policy to require staff to record asset serial numbers on the inventory list, have officials ensure that discrepancies between the inventory report and the physical inventory conducted are addressed, and add room numbers to the inventory list. It also recommends that school officials obtain the board’s approval before disposing of assets and removing them from the inventory list.
A response letter from Seaford Superintendent Adele Pecora to the state Comptroller’s Office said the district’s Board of Education has implemented policies that assist with “further strengthening the recording process.”
“The district has begun addressing the audit findings within your report snd is committed to addressing the recommendations outlined to further strengthen our capital asset management practices,” she said in the letter.
