PARISHVILLE -- The Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District has been criticized for a couple of recent annual budgets that exceeded actual expenditures.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office said the purpose of an audit released Tuesday was to determine if school board and district officials adopted reasonable budgets and adequately managed the district’s finances between period July 1, 2015 through Nov. 30, 2016.

Among the key findings of the auditors was that the board adopted budgets with estimated appropriations that exceeded actual expenditures by a total of $2.5 million, or an average of 8 percent, over fiscal years 2013-14 through 2015-16, which resulted in appropriated fund balance not being used.

During that period, the district reported unrestricted fund balances that ranged from 0.1 percent to 2.4 percent of the ensuing years’ appropriations, which is well within the statutory limit, auditors said. But when unused appropriated fund balances were added back to the fund, the recalculated fund balance ranged from 7.9 to 11 percent.

Auditors noted that the board had not adopted a reserve fund policy and some reserves are overfunded. And district officials have not developed comprehensive multiyear financial or capital plans, auditors said.

The auditors have recommended that the district:

• adopt budgets that include realistic estimates for expenditures

• develop a written policy that indicates the amount of funds to be reserved and how each reserve will be funded, and

• develop and adopt comprehensive multiyear financial and capital plans.

Such a plan would include “the use of excess unrestricted fund balance in the general fund in a manner that benefits district residents. Such uses include, but are not limited to, reducing property taxes, establishing necessary reserves or financing one-time expenditures,” auditors said.

President of the Board of Education Ward Remington signed a letter of response saying that the board accepts the recommendations, and explains the appropriations turned out to be more than expenses due to uncertainties regarding costs, particularly for fuel and utilities.