By Hank Russell
A recent audit from the New York State Comptroller’s Office found that the Valley Stream Central High School District did not properly monitor, account for and dispose of capital assets.
While the Board of Education adopted some policies for monitoring and disposing of capital assets, the audit noted, officials did not ensure the procedures were followed, which led to missing and inaccurate information in the District’s inventory system, assets that could not be located and assets not being properly disposed of. For example:
- 382 capital assets totaling $178,123 were not entered into the District’s inventory system between July 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024.
- 81 capital assets totaling $455,096 had key information missing in the inventory report, including missing or incorrect model numbers, serial numbers and manufacturer information.
- 19 assets totaling $52,992 had a missing or incorrect asset tag number. Additionally, 18 assets totaling $46,305 could not be located, including freezers, office furniture and musical equipment.
- Officials could not provide support indicating that 29 assets, which were all identified as disposed of in the District’s inventory record and had replacement costs totaling $85,400, were approved for disposal by the Board. Furthermore, these assets could not be traced with certainty to sale and destruction records due to a variety of missing and conflicting identifying information. Finally, one of the 29 assets was found to still be in the District’s possession.
Capital assets are those that have a useful life of more than one year following the date of purchase. They can include buildings, machinery, vehicles, furniture, computer equipment and software. Consequently, capital assets often represent a significant investment of school district resources and are subject to risks of loss, misuse and/or obsolescence. Detailed capital asset records help establish accountability.
The district’s capital asset policy indicates that the assistant superintendent for finance and operations is responsible for maintaining a perpetual inventory of capital assets and the consolidated applications coordinator is responsible for adhering asset tags to assets after receiving documentation from the Purchasing Department that the asset has been received. The assistant superintendent delegated his responsibility to the business manager.
When capital assets are not properly inventoried, tagged or disposed of, there is an increased risk that the assets could be stolen or misused without the district’s knowledge.
The report included seven recommendations for the assistant superintendent. These were:
- Maintain a complete and current perpetual inventory of capital assets in accordance with District policy
- Ensure the Purchasing Department provides asset tags to the Coordinator to be adhered to the asset in accordance with District policy
- Ensure that procedures for maintaining a perpetual inventory and tagging assets are followed if responsibilities are delegated from those indicated in District policy
- The Assistant Superintendent should maintain complete, accurate, up-to-date and reliable capital asset inventory records
- The Assistant Superintendent and District officials should review the inventory system and all capital assets in the District’s possession to ensure they are all included on the inventory report, with the proper identifying information, and properly tagged so they can be located when necessary
- The Board should adopt a policy requiring the secure removal of sensitive and confidential information from electronic storage equipment prior to disposal and the filing of supporting documentation
- The Assistant Superintendent should obtain Board approval prior to disposing of assets and ensure sensitive information is removed from electronic storage equipment prior to disposal
The comptroller’s office noted that, if these recommendations are implemented, the district will be able to improve its controls for the monitoring, accounting and disposal of capital assets.
District officials agreed with the recommendations. “The District is always open to opportunities for improvement and remains committed to conducting all financial matters in a responsible and transparent manner for the benefit of the Valley Stream community,” said School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Loper.
He pointed out that the district has undergone “significant leadership changes, including a new Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations.” As a result, “a comprehensive review of internal practices has been completed, and many of the concerns identified in the audit have been addressed.”