Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Independent audit finds Contoocook Valley financial statements fair; board approves manifest, transfers and donations amid concern over special-education costs
Summary
Auditors reported an unmodified opinion on the district’s financial statements and no single‑audit findings. The board approved a manifest for $2,110,772.11, several donations and budget transfers including a roughly $500,000 transfer to special‑education transportation; members requested detailed breakdowns for that overrun.
Plodzik & Sanderson manager Kyle Gingress presented the independent audit of the Contoocook Valley School District’s financial statements and delivered an unmodified opinion: “the financial statements fairly present the financial position” of the district’s governmental activities, Gingress told the board.
The audit highlighted standard items included in government‑wide reporting: capital assets, long‑term liabilities and the district’s proportionate share of New Hampshire Retirement System pension and OPEB liabilities. Gingress noted the district’s unassigned general‑fund balance and pointed meeting participants to note 14 for the itemized fund‑balance detail; the transcript records an unassigned fund balance of approximately $500,000 and a retained contingency of $384,009.
Gingress also reviewed the district’s single‑audit results for federal grant spending and reported no material weaknesses, significant deficiencies or compliance findings.
Following the audit presentation the board approved several financial items by roll call. The board certified the manifest totaling $2,110,772.11 and approved multiple donations and a budget‑transfer package. Donations accepted included charitable contributions to support an eighth‑grade trip to Washington, D.C., and a donation of 40 pairs of shoes (value stated at $4,000) plus monetary donations to supplement shoe distribution at Antrim Elementary School.
A motion to approve budget transfers drew more extended discussion. The transfers included moves into student‑services professional/contractor lines and a request to cover an overspending in special‑education transportation. Board members asked for detailed justification for the transportation overrun — including number of students served, trips, driver hours and miles — before the next meeting. One board member said the line was budgeted at “a little over a million dollars” and the transfer was “$500,000 or more,” figures echoed in the transcript; district staff said the transportation area has seen volatile costs and that shared/regional solutions were being explored.
The board also completed the Department of Revenue Administration MS‑22 signature for warrant confirmation and voted to go into nonpublic session under the statute referenced in the meeting (recorded in the transcript as “RSA 91 a 3 dash 2”) for personnel matters.
Votes at a glance - Manifest certified: $2,110,772.11 — approved by roll call (one recorded abstention during the manifest vote). - Budget transfers as requested (including special‑education transportation replenishment) — approved by roll call after discussion; board asked staff for detailed breakdown of transportation costs. - Donations accepted: multiple motions accepting funds and in‑kind donations (shoe donations, and several $667 and $900 donations to partially fund an eighth‑grade Washington, D.C. trip) — all accepted by roll call. - MS‑22 signature for Department of Revenue Administration filing — signed and to be submitted by March 31.
Board members said they would follow up with the business office to obtain the requested breakdown for special‑education transportation costs and additional documentation for the audit schedules that were presented on screen.
