Audit Finds Bellmore School District Over-Budgeted by Millions Each Year

An audit conducted by the New York State Comptroller's Office found that the Bellmore School District over-budgeted by about $4 million a year for the three years that were studied.

According to the audit report, which you can read in full here, the district over-budgeted certain items every year. Employee benefits, for instance, were budgeted at $4.4 million for 2012-15, even though actual expenses never topped $3 million.

Because the district was over-budgeting so much, the audit says, it created a larger than allowable fund balance. School districts are allowed to keep reserves of about 8 percent of their budget to cover emergency expenses and help decrease the tax burden in subsequent years. But because of the over-budgeting, Bellmore's effect fund balance was nearly 20 percent.

"Budgeting practices that overestimate expenditures and result in the accumulation and retention of excess funds can result in tax levies that are greater than necessary," report reads. "The District increased the tax levy from $22.6 million in 2012-13 to $23.6 million in 2014-15. These increases may not have been necessary had the Board used more accurate budget estimates."

In response, the Board of Education prided itself on being fiscally conservative and putting forward budgets that all came under the state-mandated tax cap.

"On May 17, 2016, voters approved the establishment of the new Capital Reserve Fund, enabling the district to complete the final step in a long-term plan to reduce the unassigned fund balance," Board President Marion Blane wrote in response to the audit. "The Bellmore UFSD is committed to maintaining strong fiscal controls and efficient operations to ensure the continuity and sustainability of both student programs and the community's investment in its school system."

To fix the problems, the Comptroller's office recommended that the district start to develop budgets that more accurately reflect actual expenditures, and to make sure the fund balance is within the legal limit.

Photo: Google Maps