CLYMER — The latest audit from the New York State Comptroller has found errors in how the Clymer Central School district has reported their payroll to the state. The district has sent out a response to the audit, disputing some claims and agreeing to work on others.

Business Official for the school, Jarrett Wiggers said that this audit was for the time period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023.

Key findings in the comptroller’s audit report included that the employee compensation payments were not always accurate, approved or supported, saying that “district officials did not ensure pay rates were accurate or that compensation was paid in compliance with employment agreements. As a result, payroll errors went undetected and resulted in unnecessary and erroneous payroll payments.”

The audit also said that district officials made compensation errors totaling $28,500 because of incorrect pay rates or incorrect hours and days worked. The district’s response said the audit did not use the correct number of work days when calculating this amount.

“The audit identified an inaccurate number of workdays used as a divisor in calculating the daily rate used to prorate salaries and determining the full entitlement for a few annualized hourly employees,” the district’s written response said. “These calculations were based on pay profiles that were set up prior to the current business office personnel start of employment in the district. The 240-day divisor that was used was based on past practice with previous administrator agreements and is consistent with the Teachers Retirement System.”

Additionally, the district said that the pay profiles with inaccurate number of workdays have been updated and district officials are aware of the discrepancy between the fluctuating number of workdays in a given calendar year and the divisor expressed in the collective bargaining agreement. They agreed to collaborate with the collective bargaining unit to update this language in the future.

Another key finding of the audit was that five employees were paid a total of $4,792 for retroactive raises that were not authorized by Clymer’s Board of Education, and that 16 employees were paid perfect attendance awards totaling $2,550 that they were not eligible for, following the collective bargaining agreement requirements. The district responded to this finding by saying that the superintendent is responsible for overseeing daily operations in the district, which include all negotiations with the collective bargaining units and non-affiliated personnel. The superintendent informed the board of all details concerning the agreements mentioned in the findings, but agreed that a timely board resolution is the appropriate protocol before financial changes in personnel agreements.

“The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges for everyone,” the district said in their response. “School districts, including ours, navigated evolving guidance from the CDC and Department of Labor regarding staff absences due to the pandemic. The Superintendent determined that employees with qualifying absence due to a mandatory quarantine would still be eligible for the attendance award. Penalizing employees for circumstances beyond their control contradicted the incentive’s purpose. The district understands the Comptroller’s perspective on this matter and will seek Board resolution in future similar circumstances.”

The final key finding in the audit report was that the district did not require written prior authorization for overtime work, making 12 overtime payments that totaled $1,858 that were not supported with evidence of approval. The district did not contest these findings in their response.

“The District does not contest the OSC finding regarding overtime payments,” they said. “However, due to the immediate nature of some of the overtime needs, verbal approvals were granted to ensure the continuity of District operations. The District acknowledges the necessity of proper documentation for such approvals moving forward and has already implemented this practice.”