Finding Text
2023-002 School Food Account - Net Cash Resources Child Nutrition Cluster Criteria: The School Food Authority shall limit its net cash resources to an amount that does not exceed three months' average
expenditures for its School Lunch Fund or such other amount as may be approved by the NYS Department of Education in
accordance with 7 CFR §210.9(b)(2). Condition:At June 30, 2023, net cash resources in the School Lunch Fund exceeded the allowable limit of cash by $572,746. At June
30, 2022, net cash resources in the School Lunch Fund exceeded the allowable limit of cash by $504,606. Cause: Revenues exceeded expenditures by $54,223 in the School Lunch Fund for the year ended June 30, 2023. Effect or Potential Effect: The School District is not in compliance with 7 CFR §210.9(b)(2). Questioned Costs: None. Context: The amount over the allowable limit of $219,645 in the amount of $572,746 at June 30, 2023, and compares with the amounts
over the allowable limit in years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 of $504,606 and $353,617, respectively. Repeat Finding This Finding is a repeat of Finding 2021-002 and 2022-002 Recommendation: We recommend the School District review its net cash resources in the School Lunch Fund and develop a plan to reduce them
to an allowable amount. Views of Responsible Officials of the Auditee: The School District is committed and will be diligent in preparing meals with high quality products. Regular cooked meals with
expanded menu choices will be prepared which will result in an increase in expenses. There has been unpredictability with the
increase of certain goods, and we expect this to continue into the 2023-2024 fiscal year as well. The School District also
participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) which provides free breakfast and lunch to every student within the
district. Salaries for School Lunch employees have also been increasing year after year due to the increase of minimum wage in
New York State. The minimum wage is expected to increase to $15 per hour. The School District does have a practice of
transferring BOCES aid gained from the cost of the BOCES management contract to the School Lunch Fund; the aid will not
be transferred in upcoming years. The School District has devised a NYSED approved plan to expend the excess funds in the
School Lunch Fund through appropriating a substantial amount of fund balance to be planned for and used for the cafeteria and
kitchen capital project. If needed, we will examine other avenues to ensure we do not exceed the allowable limit of cash at year
end.