State Audit Flags Building Access Issues In Brentwood School District

BRENTWOOD, NY — A state audit of the Brentwood Union Free School District found that several building-access badges remained active when they were no longer needed.

The audit, released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, found three current employees had duplicate active badges and five non-employee badges remained active despite exceeding the district's inactivity threshold.

Auditors said the unnecessary active credentials created a potential risk of unauthorized access to district buildings.

At the time of the audit, Brentwood had 2,839 active building-access accounts, including badges assigned to 2,632 current employees and 187 individual non-employees.

The district operates 17 school buildings, according to the audit.

Auditors found three employees had duplicate active badges after replacement cards were issued because two originals were damaged and another contained a printing error.

The district's director of safety told auditors that Safety Office personnel had forgotten to deactivate the original badges. The three unnecessary badges were disabled during the audit.

Auditors also reviewed 19 non-employee badge accounts and found five that had not been disabled in accordance with district procedures.

Under the district's procedures, officials are supposed to review badge activity every four months and contact people whose badges have not been used during that period. If the badge is not used within five school days after notification, it is supposed to be disabled.

The five badges identified by auditors had last been used between October and November 2025 and remained active after the holders failed to use them within those five days.

The district's director of safety told auditors the badges remained active because the individuals requested that they not be disabled. Auditors said the district's procedures did not provide for extending access solely at the request of a badge holder.

The Comptroller's Office recommended that the district ensure employees do not retain unnecessary duplicate badges, disable inactive accounts in accordance with district procedures and consider revising its rules if legitimate operational needs require certain accounts to remain active beyond the four-month threshold.

In a July 28 response included as part of the Comptroller's final audit report, Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera said the eight exceptions represented a small portion of the district's 2,839 active accounts and characterized the findings as administrative issues rather than broader failures in the district's security system.

The district also said the five non-employee badge holders continued to have legitimate operational relationships with the district.

The district said it was strengthening its procedures, including reinforcing requirements to immediately deactivate replaced badges, creating a formal approval process for access extensions and adding administrative oversight of badge-management decisions.

In its written response, the district also said the audit had not identified unauthorized access, misuse of credentials or security breaches.

The Comptroller's Office responded that determining whether any security breach occurred was not an objective of the audit and said the audit results therefore could not be used to conclude that no unauthorized access occurred.

The Brentwood Board of Education is required to prepare a corrective action plan addressing the audit's recommendations and submit it to the Comptroller's Office within 90 days.