Rialto USD auditor issues clean opinions for FY 2023–24; federal compliance finding repeated

An external audit presented at the Rialto Unified School District board meeting on Jan. 15 found the district’s financial statements, federal awards compliance and state compliance for fiscal year 2023–24 received unmodified (clean) audit opinions, while auditors reported a repeat federal compliance exception related to tracking certain students after disenrollment.

Andrew Park, CPA of Bailey LLP, told the board the financial-statement opinion was “unmodified,” the highest level of assurance auditors provide. Park said the district’s federal-awards audit was likewise unmodified overall, but noted a single exception involving procedures to track specific students after they were disenrolled. Park said the exception had been reported the prior year and had not been corrected in 2023–24.

Board members pressed staff on corrective steps. Park described the exception as procedural rather than one that produced a financial impact; he explained the exception arose because the required process to track these students outside the district was not in place for the sampled cases. Board members requested a follow-up report describing fixes so the finding does not recur.

The presentation also included Measure A (2012) and Measure Y (2010) general obligation bond financial and performance audits for 2023–24. Park said the firm tested a high percentage of expenditures for both bond measures (roughly 96% of $3.2 million sampled for Measure A and about 93% of $14.6 million for Measure Y) and reported no exceptions: bond proceeds were spent in accordance with voter-approved measures.

Ending: The board accepted the audit reports. District staff said they have begun steps to address the student-tracking exception and will report back to the board.