The Elmont Union Free School has strengthened financial oversight and adopted policies to limit spending on meals, travel and other administrative expenses after a State Comptroller's audit and an independent financial review of the district's financial operations identified areas for improvement, New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi said.

The comptroller's audit released today examined administrative expenses for the school district from July 1, 2002 to August 31, 2004. Auditors found that duties were not properly segregated to ensure that money was being spent appropriately and that some expenses did not have proper documentation. Auditors did not identify any evidence of wrongdoing and found that the district had already addressed many of the control weaknesses identified. This is the 11th audit that Comptroller's Hevesi's office has completed of Long Island school districts.

"I commend the Elmont School District for proactively taking steps to assure taxpayers that the district is managing public money responsibly and for making necessary improvements when auditors found weaknesses," Hevesi said.

Findings include:

* Credit Card Charges. $14,400 in charges was spent on seven credit cards assigned to the superintendent and members of the board of education. No written rules existed on how officials should use those cards. In addition, auditors found that the district paid charges for things such as meals, hotels, train tickets and airfare even though proper documentation was not attached. In January 2005, the board of education passed a policy requiring that an itemized receipt, the purpose of the expense and the name of the individual who made the purchase were attached to the expense claim to verify that expenses were prudent and proper.

* Travel for District Staff and Board Members. The district spent $24,500 on travel for managers and members of the board of education. The district had no limit on what officials could spend on meals or lodging. The district exceeded the federal per diem reimbursement rates for hotel rooms by $3 to $96 per night and paid hotel tax when the district was tax exempt.

* Cell Phone Usage. $33,100 was spent on 52 cell phones. Auditors found that the district did not have a written policy for cell phone use or who should get phones. However, the district did seek reimbursement for personal calls.

* Meals for Meetings. The board provided no guidance on when it was appropriate to provide meals and refreshments to employees. In total, the district spent $18,800 for food at 92 meetings.

* Segregation of Treasurer's Duties. The district did not properly segregate the treasurer's duties to provide an adequate set of checks and balances over financial transactions. For example, the treasurer controlled all phases of transactions including: preparing deposits, transferring funds electronically, posting entries in the accounting records, signing checks and performing bank reconciliations.

* Proper Review of Spending. Although the board had appointed an internal claims auditor who reported to it directly, this individual also worked as a stenographic secretary in the superintendent's office. Part of her responsibilities included preparing purchase requisitions for supplies and conferences for this office. Therefore she could not provide proper independent review of claims necessary for good internal controls.

In recent months, the district had its independent auditors expand their financial review to perform an in-depth review of expenses from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. The district has also hired new staff to help segregate and realign business duties. In addition, the board of education adopted a written policy that outlines rules for travel and established the federal per diem for what the district will pay for lodging expenses. A policy was also adopted related to providing meals and refreshments and establishing a cap on daily meal expense reimbursements.

Auditors' recommendations include:

* The board of education should appoint an internal claims auditor who does not report to a sole school district official that supervises others who approve financial transactions and purchases goods.

* The internal claims auditor should require that every claim contain enough supporting documentation to determine that it complies with district policies.

* The board should monitor, enforce and update policies for cell phones, credit cards, travel-related expenses and meals.

* To avoid paying taxes, district travelers should be ready with proper identification and tax exempt forms.

In response to the audit, Superintendent Maria Palandra, Ph.D., said that many recommendations of the auditors have been acted upon and that the audit echoed an initiative under way at the district to improve operations. She also said "The audit has contributed to the enhancement of our fine school system and we hope that the comptroller will re-establish the practice of routinely auditing school districts and other public agencies."

Dr. Palandra's full response is included in the audit, as well as a response to five taxpayer complaints investigated as part of the audit.

The Elmont School District has approximately 4,400 students, six education buildings and about 660 employees. The district's 2004-05 operating budget was about $55 million.