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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster 2002 Public Schools End of Year Audit TOWN OF BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS BRESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS ' REPORT ON APPLYING AGREED-UPON PROCEDURES YEAR ENDED JUNE 309 2002 TOWN OF BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS BREWSTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS JUNE 309 2002 CONTENTS PAGE Independent Accountants ' Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures 1 Summary of Procedures 2- 5 Findings and Recommendations 6-7 R. E . BROWN & COMPANY CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS P .O . Box 230 - 25 CEMETERY STREET Mendon, Massachusetts 01756 Phone : (508) 478 -3941 Fax: (508) 478- 1779 INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS ' REPORT ON APPLYING AGREED-UPON PROCEDURES To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Members of the School Committee Town of Brewster, Massachusetts We have performed the procedures enumerated in the attached appendix, which were agreed to by the management of the Town of Brewster, Massachusetts (the " Town" ) and Brewster Public Schools , solely to assist you in evaluating the completeness and accuracy of the Town' s Massachusetts Department of Education (the "Department" ) Annual Pupil and Financial Report for the year ended June 30 , 2002, and to demonstrate the Town' s compliance with the requirements for preparing that report as specified by the Department . This agreed-upon procedures engagement was performed in accordance with standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants . The sufficiency of these procedures is solely the responsibility of the specified users of the report . Consequently, we make no representation regarding the sufficiency of the procedures described in the accompanying appendix that follows either for the purpose for which this report has been requested or for any other purpose . We were not engaged to , and did not perform an examination, the objective of which would be the expression of an opinion on the completeness and accuracy of the annual pupil and financial report filed with the Department . Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. Had we performed additional procedures, other matters might have come to our attention that would have been reported to you . This report is intended solely for the use of the management of the Town of Brewster, Massachusetts , the Town's Public School and the Massachusetts Department of Education and should not be used by those who have not agreed to the procedures and taken responsibility for the sufficiency of the procedures for their purposes . Certified Public Accountants June 19 , 2003 SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES Massachusetts School Districts must use the standard financial reporting Schedules contained in the End- of-Year Pupil and Financial Report . These Schedules include financial and non-financial data . The financial information must be traceable to the accounting ledgers of the district or of the municipality or to a documented methodology. The non- financial information must be traceable to records or to documented methodology that demonstrates the information was compiled from existing records . The Department of Education issued twenty specific compliance requirements which are to be performed for the engagement of the School District ' s End- of-Year Pupil and Financial Report . Listed below are the agreed upon procedures specified in the Department of Education Compliance Supplement : Schedule 1 1 . Trace the amounts reported for general fund education expenditures from the Statement of Revenues , Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances (or the total Schedule 1 expenditures) to the municipal accounting ledgers and to the district accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . If a " crosswalk" exists between the municipal and district ledgers , obtain an understanding of the crosswalk and determine if the crosswalk is reasonable . 2 . Trace the amounts reported for a sample of DOE functions (i . e . teaching, principal) in Schedule 1 to the detail in accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 3 . Trace the sum of professional and other salaries in Schedule 1 to the payroll expenditure total in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 4 . Trace the sum of other expenditures in Schedule 1 to the non-payroll expenditure total in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 5 . Trace the amounts reported on Schedule 3 to the following DOE functions reported on Schedule 1 : 2100 Supervisory; 2300 Teaching; 2400 Textbooks and Instructional Equipment ; 2700 Guidance ; and 2800 Psychological . These amounts should agree . Ascertain the methodology used to allocate, distribute or assign Supervisory, Teaching, Guidance and Psychological costs and determine if that methodology was utilized . 6 . Review expenditures for Extraordinary Maintenance (4300) . Verify that this amount does not include salaries . Verify that these expenditures include applicable principal portions of a loan or the cost of a lease/purchase agreement . Verify that expenditures classified as a 4300 account must not exceed the per project dollar limit for extraordinary maintenance ($ 100, 000) . Trace amounts to the detail in the accounting ledgers . - 2 - SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES Schedule 1 , continued 7 . Trace total education revenues reported from the Statement of Revenues , Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances (or from the municipal accounting ledgers and district accounting ledgers) to total Schedule 1 revenues . These amounts should agree . 8 . Trace the total school district revenue reported from federal grants , state grants , and revolving and special funds to the detail in district accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 9 . Trace the amounts reported for a sample of State Objects (professional salaries (01 ) , other salaries (02) and other expenditures (04 — 06) along with a sample of DOE Programs (regular day, SPED , etc . ) and a sample of DOE Functions (such as general administration 1100 , 1200) to the detail in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 10 . Ascertain if the following DOE Functions are distributed, allocated or assigned to Programs (regular day, SPED , etc . ) . Trace the amounts reported by DOE Function to Programs to the accounting ledgers or to a documented methodology. These amounts should agree to the ledgers or to the methodology. • 2100 Supervisory • 2300 Teaching • 2400 Textbook & Instructional Equipment • 2700 Guidance • 2800 Psychological • 3300 Pupil Transportation • 6200 Civic Activities • 6800 Health Non-Public Schools • 6900 Transportation Non-Public • 9000 Payments to other Districts 11 . Trace the amounts reported for a sample of grade level totals in Schedule 3 to the detail in accounting ledgers and to the total in Schedule 1 . These amounts should agree . Obtain a listing of teachers by grade level (salaries and FTEs) and compare to the total amount of dollars reported on Schedule 1 and FTEs reported on Schedule 13 . These amounts should also agree . 12 . Ascertain the methodology used for assigning or allocating expenditures for fringe benefits to school district expenditures for Employee Benefits . Trace the reported cost to this methodology and to the detail in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . - 3 - SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES Schedule 1 , continued 13 . Determine the expenditures reported as long-term School Construction debt for principal ( 8 100) and interest ( 8200) . Verify that bond anticipation notes are not included . Verify the reported totals to the Treasurer ' s debt Schedule . Trace the reported amount to the detail in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 14 . Trace the expenditures for tuition payments : to other school districts in state (9100) , to out of state schools (9200) , to non-public schools (9300) , to member collaboratives (9400) , and assessments to member regional school districts (9500) to the detail in the accounting ledgers . These amounts should agree . 15 . For municipal expenditures that result in services directly related to the school committee, determine the methodology used to allocate, distribute or assign municipal expenditures to the district . Test the amounts reported using this methodology. These amounts should agree . Schedule 4 16 . Ascertain the methodology used to allocate, distribute or assign SPED costs to the prototype on Schedule 4 . Test the amounts reported on Schedule 4 using this methodology. These amounts should agree . 17 . Trace the costs reported by prototype on Schedule 4 to the corresponding students (headcount and FTE) reported on Schedule 11 . Check the consistency in reporting categories of prototypes in Schedule 4 to Schedule 11 . - 4 - SUMMARY OF PROCEDURES Schedule 7 18 . For expenditures , trace the amounts reported for a sample of Programs (such as Regular Day, Bilingual, Occupational Day) along with a sample of lines (such as Within The District and Outside The District) to the detail in the accounting ledgers or determine the methodology that allocates , distributes or assigns transportation expenditures and trace the amounts reported to this methodology for : • Pupils transported at least 1 %2 miles by school transportation vehicles • Pupils transported at least 1 %2 miles by public utility • Non-reimbursable and SPED expenditures • Depreciation The amounts should agree to the ledger or to the methodology. 19 . For pupils , trace the amounts reported for a sample of Programs (such as Bilingual , Occupational Day) along with a sample of lines (such as Within The District and Outside The District) to the detail or to a methodology that allocates , distributes or assigns transportation pupils or to the detail in the accounting ledgers for : • Pupils transported at least 1 %2 miles by school transportation vehicles • Pupils transported at least 11/2 miles by public utility • Non-reimbursable and SPED expenditures Schedule 19 20 . Determine whether the School District reports changes to the "A. 1 Appropriation By School Committee section of Schedule 19 " to DOE . Compare the final School Committee Appropriation to the Schedule 19 as filed/amended to determine if changes were reported . - 5 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1 . Finding: Schedule 1 — requirements 1 — In our review of the crosswalk between Schedule 1 total expenditures and the districts accounting ledgers to the general fund education expenditures from the Statement of Revenues , Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances we noted that $ 6 ,433 of expenditures were not reflected on Schedule 1 . These expenditures were for ventilation system improvements and parking lot drainage improvements to the various school buildings . Criteria : The total amounts reported for general fund education expenditures from the Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances should agree to the districts and municipalities accounting ledgers . Recommendation : We recommend that the Brewster School Department record all education expenditures recorded on the municipalities accounting ledgers in either the school committee or the towns section of Schedule 1 . Response: Brewster will comply. This was an oversight . 2 . Finding: Schedule 1 — requirements 3 and 4 — Although there was agreement of total expenditures (salaries and non- salaries) between the district ' s accounting ledger and Schedule 1 in the EOYR, comparison of total salaries reported on Schedule 1 to total payroll expenditures in the district ' s accounting ledger did not agree by $ 7 , 883 . There was corresponding difference between total non- salaries reported on Schedule 1 and the district ' s accounting ledger. A majority of the difference was due to reporting contractual services professional development as professional salary expenditures for function 2357 (linel 18 1 ) - Professional salaries . Criteria : The sum of professional, clerical and other salaries and the sum of other expenditures (non- salaries) reported on Schedule 1 should agree to the district ' s accounting ledgers . Recommendation : We recommend that the Brewster School Department report all salaries and other expenditures on the proper lines within the various categories . Response: In the future, the Brewster School Department will report all salaries and other expenditures in the proper lines within the various categories . - 6 - FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3 . Finding: Schedule 1 - requirement 6 — Expenditures classified as Extraordinary Maintenance (4300) included a project which exceeded the per project dollar limit of $ 100, 000 . The project in question had $ 434, 500 in expenditures reported on Schedule 1 . Criteria : Expenditures classified as Extraordinary Maintenance (4300) must not exceed the per project dollar limit of $ 100, 000 Recomneendation : We recommend that the Brewster School Department report any project costs in excess of $ 100 , 000 in the Purchase of Land and Buildings category (7200) line 2100 . Response: Brewster will comply. Did not think repair(s) would be considered purchase of Land and Buildings . - 7 -