A local charter school is being scrutinized for its financial practices after an audit by the New York State Comptroller’s Office.
According to the audit report, Primary Hall Charter School in Buffalo had nearly 140 debit card purchases totaling more than $130,000 that were not properly approved between July 2022 and September 2024.
All purchases have been determined to be an appropriate use of funds, but the school needs to improve its documentation for future clarity, said Melissa Myers, the state comptroller's Buffalo Region chief of municipal audits.
“We ask them to develop a corrective action plan and have that available at the school for interested parties to review," she said. "The school, in their response that they provided to us, they indicated that many of the changes that we recommended that they make, that they had already implemented the corrective action.”
According to a written statement submitted by Primary Hall’s Executive Director in the audit report, the school has eliminated debit card use for school purchases, set up a separate account for donations and fund development to avoid confusion with purchases, and improved itemizing practices.
Primary Hall opened in 2021, which was why the comptroller's office waited a few years before its first audit, Myers said.
"We usually wait, you know, give them a few years to set up and operate," she said. "Then we go in to see how their internal controls have been set up over the financial operations and see if we can make recommendations."
