Delaware Releases FY2023 School District Local Funds Audits
- 39th District Republicans
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
What Seaford and Sussex Tech Taxpayers Should Know
The Delaware Auditor of Accounts is required by law to conduct annual performance audits of school district local tax funds. These audits evaluate whether districts are collecting and spending local property tax dollars efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with state law.
The FY2023 performance audits for Delaware’s 19 public school districts have now been released — including reports for Seaford School District and Sussex County Vocational Technical School District (Sussex Tech).
Performance audits are not simply financial reviews. They examine internal controls, procurement practices, payroll oversight, and tax rate calculations to ensure transparency and accountability.
What Was Reviewed?
Both audits evaluated:
The tax rate setting process
Payments for services and supplies
Employee compensation and payroll processing
Compliance with Delaware Code and procurement laws
These reviews covered July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
Seaford School District – Key Findings
You can read the full Seaford audit here:
The Good News
Tax rates were properly supported, including the current expense rate approved by referendum.
Local funds were allocated consistently with board-approved tax rates.
The district’s debt service reserve ($332,266 as of June 30, 2023) complied with state requirements.
Audit testing did not uncover fraud, waste, or abuse.
Payroll changes tested were supported and consistent with approved salary schedules.
Seaford receives approximately 23% of its funding from local sources and 77% from state/federal funds.
Areas of Concern
The audit identified weaknesses in documentation and internal control retention:
The district could not provide documentation showing required review and approval for certain substitute teacher pay rates.
Documentation of review for some local tax revenue receipts was missing.
The issue stemmed largely from administrative turnover and document retention processes — not from evidence of misuse of funds. However, auditors emphasized that missing documentation increases risk exposure and weakens internal controls.
The recommendation: strengthen document retention and ensure approvals are properly recorded and accessible.
Sussex County Vocational Technical School District – Key Findings
You can read the full Sussex Tech audit here:
The Good News
Debt service reserves ($1.86 million as of June 30, 2023) were within state guidelines.
Local funds were allocated consistently with approved tax rates.
Payroll changes and salary schedules were properly supported.
No fraud, waste, or abuse was identified.
Sussex Tech receives approximately 12% of its funding from local sources and 88% from state/federal funds.
Areas of Concern
Unlike Seaford’s documentation issue, Sussex Tech’s audit findings focused on procurement compliance:
The district made open-market purchases of sporting goods totaling $31,543 without obtaining the required three written quotes.
Certain sole-source purchases lacked required documentation, including:
Evidence only one vendor could supply the goods
Documentation of price comparisons
Documentation of efforts to identify alternative vendors
Two notable sole-source purchases included:
Large industrial fans for auto shops ($41,014)
Branded iPad cases for the district’s One-to-One program ($196,064)
Auditors concluded the issue was not necessarily overpayment — but rather failure to follow required procurement procedures. When procedures aren’t followed, districts risk not receiving the best pricing or terms.
The recommendation: implement stronger annual procurement review processes and ensure sole-source purchases are properly documented.
Why These Audits Matter
School districts have authority to levy local property taxes. With that authority comes responsibility.
Performance audits:
Protect taxpayers
Ensure transparency
Identify weaknesses before they become major problems
Improve financial oversight
Build public trust
Importantly, neither Seaford nor Sussex Tech were found to have committed fraud or misused funds. The findings primarily involve internal control and procurement documentation weaknesses.
But even documentation matters.
Strong internal controls prevent errors, discourage misconduct, and reassure taxpayers that funds are managed responsibly.
What Happens Next?
Both districts are required to develop corrective action plans to address audit findings. Strengthening internal controls and procurement compliance will help reduce risk in future audits.
Taxpayers, school board members, and parents should view these audits not as political documents, but as accountability tools.
When oversight works, public trust increases.
And when documentation improves, districts are better protected from financial risk.
Staying informed about how local education tax dollars are managed is one of the most important ways we strengthen our communities.
Transparency matters. Accountability matters. And informed citizens matter most of all.
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