File Photo Pictured is Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson.

GOWANDA — In January, the Gowanda Central School District was heavily criticized by the office of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli for a “continued practice of overestimating” the district’s needs and consistently overtaxing its residents.

Almost a year later, the District and its Board of Education approved a Corrective Action Plan to remedy the Comptroller’s findings moving forward. The Corrective Action Plan will be implemented Dec. 31. It is overseen by Barb Smith, School Business Administrator.

Even in the approval of the plan, however, the District continued to dig in its heels on the choices it made in the first place. The District believes long-term financial stability should be the focus and priority when funding reserves, and stresses the importance of having funds on hand to cover the cost of unanticipated needs.

The Comptroller’s audit, however, stated the Gowanda Central School District and its Board of Education “did not properly manage the District’s fund balance and reserves.” The audit, which spanned from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023, criticized the District for a lack of transparency regarding its financial state and avoided opportunities to lower real property taxes. According to the report, the District overestimated its budget by 14.7% over the three-year period, beginning in 2020-2021, at an average of approximately $4.4 million per year.

In the management response within its Corrective Action Plan, the District said, “The District’s fund balance grew over the past few years due to large influxes of Federal Covid funds and Foundation Aid.

The District was able to reduce the Unrestricted Fund Balance to 9.3% in 2024-25 due to one time expenditures and funding reserves for our next capital project and repairs. We are fortunate to have a fund balance to pay for needed repairs such as the pool and parking lots and other upgrades for students including a rubber surface to the playground.”

The District, like many others across western New York, does not abide by the New York State limit of 4% of budgeted expenditures to be considered as unassigned fund balance. The District said in its Corrective Action Plan that it “considers additional guidance” in its budgeting practices, such as the Government Finance Officers’ Association’s advice to consider the reliance on state and federal aid, which (has been) increasingly volatile in recent years. The District stated that it is “more appropriately” protected against aid reductions and/or unanticipated expenditures by following the guidance of the Government Finance Officers’ Association, rather than abiding by the state’s limits.

“The District has and will continue to closely monitor fund equity in the future and will review options concerning reservations and designations to fund balance,” the District said in its response, while also noting the creation of a repair reserve fund in 2023-24.

The audit recommended that the District appropriate the additional funds it has on hand in future budgets to offset the burden on taxpayers. It also suggested the establishment of restricted fund accounts to be used for “one-time” purchases, such as capital improvements.

In the wake of the Comptroller’s audit, the District is still moving forward with a major Capital Improvement Project proposal, set for a public vote on Dec. 9. The project totals $44.5 million of work and comes at no additional tax impact. The reason why, however, is partly due to how much money the district has been setting aside over the past few years with upgrades in mind. The District is not raising taxes to fund the project because it already has collected the money it needs to do so.

If approved by voters in December, the project would be supported by $9.5 million of reserve funds. The District has emphasized that the capital reserve funds cannot be utilized for other purposes. Because of that, the District is using the most efficient method of spending to address its facilities, considering the state aid reimbursement attached to capital improvement projects.

The District is also repairing its pool through an emergency repair project and improved its playgrounds and parking lots with the funds it had available. The District is hopeful to have the pool repaired and ready for use around March.

A public hearing regarding the proposed Capital Project was recently held by the District, with architects from Young and Wright present to help answer questions from the public. The hearing lasted 35 minutes including discussion between the public and the District, facilitated by Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson.

The vote will be in the library of Gowanda Middle School, from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9. If approved by voters, New York state approval of the project is targeted for early 2027, with construction likely to begin in 2028 if approved by the state.