New York education leaders said Tuesday that accounting errors in a lower Hudson Valley school district are isolated and do not reflect widespread oversight issues within the state Education Department. 

Earlier this year, the Education Department (SED) forced an additional 4.4% tax increase in the East Ramapo school district, which faced cuts amid a reported $20 million deficit. Residents in the area have long rejected other budget proposals to increase taxes.

Then, last week, the Rockland County district was found to be sitting on a $30 million surplus.

Republican state Senator Bill Weber wants more accountability in the Education Department after an external audit uncovered the $50 million accounting error.

"The monitor reports to the commissioner and the commissioner and the monitor were the ones that recommended this additional tax increase," the senator told Spectrum News 1.

The senator and other area officials have asked the state to recheck the numbers and pay taxpayers back.

Weber is worried SED Commissioner Betty Rosa's decision to impose the tax hike amid accounting errors means the department will make the same mistake elsewhere — and disregard voters' wishes. 

But education leaders say those concerns are unfounded. Bob Lowry, deputy director of the state Council of School Superintendents, says even though it took months, catching the accounting errors means the system's existing checks and balances continue to be effective.

"What the state has in place now is very extensive, and again, it's what brought this situation to light," he said.

Senate Education Committee chair Shelley Mayer and Assembly Education Committee chair Michael Benedetto both agree — saying SED does not need to change its oversight practices in wake of the district's fiscal discrepancy.

Benedetto pointed to budget issues plaguing East Ramapo over the last 20 years.

"They keep on proposing tax increases so they can fund the school properly and for every single year, they were voting the tax increase down," the assemblyman said of East Ramapo taxpayers. "Finally, the commissioner of education had enough backbone to say 'We are going to do this no more, and we are goinig to say they have to impose upon their constituents a special tax so that schools will be funded properly.'"

Benedetto said the fiscal error is serious, but does not indicate failure at the department, and that New Yorkers should not be concerned about SED imposing extra taxes in other districts.

SED officials were shocked to learn about the district's budget surplus, according to the department, and immediately requested state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office conduct a seperate audit of the district's finances.

The state comptroller's office is reviewing SED's request to audit the East Ramapo School District, but declined to answer further questions about the matter. 

"Each board of education has a fiduciary duty to its residents, which includes the responsibility to manage its finances," an SED spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. "This duty is non-delegable; East Ramapo cannot escape responsibility by blaming the State. In fact, the revelation that East Ramapo possessed millions of extra dollars only came to light because of the efforts of the State’s newly appointed Fiscal Monitor, Shawn Farr. Mr. Farr discovered this omission in conjunction with the new school district administration led by Interim Superintendent Anthony DiCarlo and his staff, which was subsequently confirmed by the district’s annual independent audit required by law."

Leadership in East Ramapo's business office, including the previous fiscal monitor and assistant superintendent for business, promptly resigned from SED after the mistake was discovered. SED regularly met with the previous district administration to review future budget projections.

"At no point did the district or the prior fiscal monitor identify a substantial change in the outlooks that they provided and at no point was the potential for a budget surplus considered," according to the department.

The commissioner's order for the 4.4% tax increase was not to address cash flow issues, according to SED, but to ensure the safety of school drinking water and services for English Language Learners.

The focus remains on upcoming budget negotiations to change the state formula to disperse aid to schools, known as the Foundation Aid formula. 

The Rockefeller Institute of Government is set to release long-awaited recommendations next week to direct state leaders how to change the outdated formula. 

"We also have to be more attentive than usual to what might be coming from Washington and how that could affect schools," Lowry said.

Education leaders and the comptroller's office continue to discuss increasing how much money a school can keep in its unrestricted fund balance.

State law requires school districts hire accounting firms to perform external audits each year. The state comptroller's office audits districts as needed, or after risk-based assessment akin to state protocol to audit local governments.