External auditor issues unmodified opinion but flags repeated grant-management and procurement weaknesses

The Central Consolidated Schools Board of Education received the district's 2023'24 annual financial audit on Thursday, when external auditor Byron Manning presented the report and a summary of findings.

Manning said auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the district's financial statements — the highest routine audit opinion — but identified several repeated significant deficiencies and multiple compliance findings in grant administration, procurement and internal controls. "We did not identify any material weaknesses," Manning said, adding that the audit did note three significant deficiencies and a number of other matters that require board attention.

The audit shows the district's unrestricted net position is reported as a negative roughly $113 million, primarily because state accounting requires districts to show the estimated future pension and retiree health (ERB/OPEB) liabilities as if the district itself were fully liable. Manning described that number as "paper" in the sense that retirees receive those benefits through statewide systems rather than the district directly. He also highlighted a roughly $44 million positive change in net position driven by actuarial changes to pension and OPEB estimates, which likewise reflect accounting adjustments rather than immediate cash inflows.

Manning called attention to the operational (general) fund cash balance, which the audit records at about $7.7 million at year-end after factoring interfund receivables and…