Chris Healy, an audit partner at Mengel Musker Bar (MMB), presented the district’s 06/30/2025 external audit in draft form and said the firm expects to issue an unmodified opinion on the financial statements while reporting several findings.

Healy said the district was out of compliance with “your 4% real property tax law limitation,” reporting the tax-rate-related measure at 22% as of June 30, 2025 — about $14,000,000 over the limit. He said that figure reflects a board-level decision to retain additional unassigned fund balance so the district can avoid drawing on designated reserves when pandemic-related funding tapers off.

The auditor also described two additional findings they expect to report. One relates to documentation: the district needs written verification that vendors used on federal programs have been screened for suspension or debarment, even though Healy said the audit procedures found no payments to ineligible vendors. The other concern is a mismatch between certain final cost reports submitted to the state (education stabilization funding cost reports) and the district’s general ledger; the amounts were recorded appropriately as liabilities in the audited financial statements but differed from what was submitted to the state.

Healy said the firm could not yet issue the single-audit report required under OMB’s Uniform Guidance because the 2025 compliance supplement has not been finalized; the auditor expects no significant change but will finalize that report once federal guidance is issued. He also said the audit of extra-classroom activity funds (cash-basis) will likely receive a qualified opinion because of weak controls over cash collection reaching the bank — a qualification Healy called “pretty standard” in New York.

Why it matters: an unmodified opinion indicates the auditor believes the financial statements present fairly in all material respects, but the identified findings — statutory noncompliance with the local property-tax measure and control/documentation weaknesses — are matters the board must address for compliance and internal-control improvement. The single-audit delay means additional federal-program review will follow once OMB issues its finalized guidance.

The presentation included recommendations to formalize vendor-debarment documentation, reconcile state cost reports to the general ledger before submission, and continue best-practice controls for extra-classroom funds. No formal board action on the audit was recorded in the transcript; Healy said the team would finalize reports after follow-up with district staff.