PERFORMANCE AUDIT ____________ Frazier School District Fayette County, Pennsylvania ____________ October 2016 Mr. William R. Henderson, III, Superintendent Mr. Thomas Shetterly, Board President Frazier School District Frazier School District 142 Constitution Street 142 Constitution Street Perryopolis, Pennsylvania 15473 Perryopolis, Pennsylvania 15473 Dear Mr. Henderson and Mr. Shetterly: We have conducted a performance audit of the Frazier School District (District) for the period July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015, except as otherwise indicated in the audit scope, objective, and methodology section of the report. We evaluated the District’s performance in the following areas as further described in the appendix of this report: • Financial Stability • Administrative Contract Buy-Out • Bus Driver Requirements • School Safety The audit was conducted pursuant to Sections 402 and 403 of The Fiscal Code (72 P.S. §§ 402 and 403), and in accordance with the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Our audit found that the District performed adequately in the areas listed above, except as noted in the following finding: • District Operating Deficits Have Resulted in a Negative General Fund Balance of $139,997 as of June 30, 2015 Mr. William R. Henderson, III Mr. Thomas Shetterly Page 2 We appreciate the District’s cooperation during the course of the audit. Sincerely, Eugene A. DePasquale October 20, 2016 Auditor General cc: FRAZIER SCHOOL DISTRICT Board of School Directors Table of Contents Page Background Information ............................................................................................................. 1 Finding ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Finding - District Operating Deficits Have Resulted in a Negative General Fund Balance of $139,997 as of June 30, 2015 .............................................. 5 Status of Prior Audit Findings and Observations ....................................................................... 15 Appendix: Audit Scope, Objectives, and Methodology ............................................................. 19 Distribution List .......................................................................................................................... 22 Background Information School Characteristics Mission StatementA 2015-16 School YearA County Fayette “The mission of the Frazier School District Total Square Miles 83 is to empower students to take ownership of Resident PopulationB 8,015 their learning. We will emphasize the Number of School responsible use of technology, utilize data 21 Buildings driven decision, and incorporate varied Total Teachers 80 instructional strategies while providing a Total Full or Part- safe, nurturing environment.” 56 Time Support Staff Total Administrators 6 Total Enrollment for Most Recent School 1,251 Year Intermediate Unit 1 Number District Vo-Tech Central School Westmoreland CTC A - Source: Information provided by the District administration and is unaudited. B - Source: United States Census http://www.census.gov/2010census Financial Information The following pages contain financial information about the District obtained from annual financial data reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and available on PDE’s public website. This information was not audited and is presented for informational purposes only. General Fund Balance TOTAL DEBT For Year End June 30 FOR YEAR END JUNE 30 General Fund Balance Debt $600.0 467.9 $30 $400.0 271.7 $200.0 $20 26.9 26.6 -87.1 21.3 Thousands -153.0 $0.0 MILLIONS $10 -$200.0 -342.1 -$400.0 $0 5.2 4.5 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2 1 As of the 2015-16 school year, the only two buildings in the District are the newly-constructed Elementary/Middle School and the old High School. One of the two old elementary schools was razed for the construction of the Elementary/Middle School and the other elementary school is in the process of being razed or sold. 2 Total Debt is comprised of Short-Term Borrowing, General Obligation Bonds, Authority Building Obligations, Other Long-Term Debt, Other Post-Employment Benefits and Compensated Absences. Frazier School District Performance Audit 1 Financial Information Continued Total Revenue and Total Charter Tuition Expenditures Payments For Year End June 30 For Year End June 30 Total Revenue Total Expenditures Total Charter Tuition Payments $17 $350 $16 $300 16.3 319.2 16.1 MILLIONS 289.0 Thousands $250 279.3 275.5 $16 15.9 240.6 15.6 $200 $15 15.3 15.2 15.2 $150 15.1 $15 14.9 $100 14.7 $14 $50 $14 $0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Revenue By Source For Year End June 30 $12 10.3 10.2 9.8 9.6 $10 8.9 MILLIONS $8 5.5 4.9 $6 4.6 4.5 4.4 $4 1.9 $2 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 $0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Local Revenue State Revenue Federal Revenue Other Revenue Frazier School District Performance Audit 2 Academic Information The following table and charts consist of School Performance Profile (SPP) scores and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) results for the entire District obtained from PDE’s data files.3 These scores are presented in the District’s audit report for informational purposes only, and they were not audited by our Department. SPP benchmarks represent the statewide average of all district school buildings in the Commonwealth.4 PSSA benchmarks and goals are determined by PDE each school year and apply to all public school entities.5 District SPP and PSSA scores were calculated using an average of all of the individual school buildings within the District. Scores below SPP statewide averages and PSSA benchmarks/goals are presented in red. Districtwide SPP and PSSA Scores PSSA % Advanced or PSSA % Advanced or SPP Scores Proficient in Math Proficient in Reading 2012- 2013- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2011- 2012- 2013- District 13 14 12 13 14 12 13 14 Statewide Benchmark 77.6 77.2 78 73 71 81 70 69 Frazier SD 79.4 79.9 80.8 78.7 78.0 79.0 75.1 74.7 SPP Grade6 C C District SPP Scores PSSA % Advanced or PSSA % Advanced or 100 Proficient in Math Proficient in Reading 90 100 100 80 90 90 70 80 80 79.9 79.4 77.6 77.2 60 81 70 78 70 80.8 79.0 78.7 73 78.0 50 71 70 75.1 74.7 60 60 69 40 50 50 30 40 40 20 30 30 10 20 20 0 10 10 2012-13 2013-14 0 0 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 District Score Statewide Average District Score Statewide Benchmark District Score Statewide Benchmark 3 PDE is the sole source of academic data presented in this report. All academic data was obtained from PDE’s publically available website. 4 Statewide averages for SPP scores were calculated based on all district school buildings throughout the Commonwealth, excluding charter and cyber charter schools. 5 PSSA benchmarks apply to all district school buildings, charters, and cyber charters. In the 2011-12 school year, the state benchmarks reflect the Adequate Yearly Progress targets established under No Child Left Behind. In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, the state benchmarks reflect the statewide goals based on annual measurable objectives established by PDE. 6 The following letter grades are based on a 0-100 point system: A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), F (59 or below). Frazier School District Performance Audit 3 Individual School Building SPP and PSSA Scores The following table consists of SPP scores and PSSA results for each of the District’s school buildings. Any blanks in PSSA data means that PDE did not publish a score for that school for that particular year.7 PSSA % Advanced or PSSA % Advanced or SPP Scores Proficient in Math Proficient in Reading 2012- 2013- 2011- 2012- 2013- 2011- 2012- 2013- School Name 13 14 12 13 14 12 13 14 Statewide Benchmark 77.6 77.2 78 73 71 81 70 69 Central Elementary School 78.1 78.4 88.7 81.1 72.8 76.8 69.4 62.5 Frazier High School 73.4 82.6 61.7 70.0 79.3 79.0 85.7 80.5 Frazier Middle School 83.2 82.6 91.1 84.6 83.5 84.3 72.7 82.8 Perry Elementary School 82.7 75.9 81.6 79.2 76.5 75.9 72.7 73.0 4 Year Cohort Graduation Rates The cohort graduation rates are a calculation of the percentage of students who have 4 Year Cohort Graduation graduated with a regular high school Rate diploma within a designated number of 100 years since the student first entered high school. The rate is determined for a cohort 80 91.0 90.1 89.6 89.5 86.2 of students who have all entered high school 60 84.7 for the first time during the same school 40 8 year. 20 0 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Graduation Rate Statewide Average 7 PDE’s data does not provide any further information regarding the reason a score was not published. 8 http://www.education.pa.gov/Data-and-Statistics/Pages/Cohort-Graduation-Rate-.aspx#.V1BFCdTD-JA. Frazier School District Performance Audit 4 Finding Finding District Operating Deficits Have Resulted in a Negative General Fund Balance of $139,997 as of June 30, 2015 In order to assess the District’s financial stability, we Criteria relevant to the finding: reviewed several financial benchmarks to evaluate changes Section 609 of the Public School in its financial position over a period of five years from Code (PSC), Section 24 P.S.