District audit committee reports quarterly cadence, enrollment and budget risk reviews

Members of the district audit committee presented their annual report to the Board of Education, describing the committee’s work on financial controls, insurance coverage, technology risk and enrollment‑related budget projections during the 2024–25 year.

Janet Henry and Tom Hoffman, audit committee members, told the board the committee reviewed independent auditor reports, property and casualty coverage, semi‑annual counsel reviews and technology control testing. The committee also reviewed budget assumptions and enrollment projections and discussed the fiscal implications of continued enrollment decline.

Henry said the committee reduced its meeting cadence from monthly to quarterly in response to changes in committee workload and the creation of other task forces, but recommended a clearer role in regular financial statement reviews. “One of the things we need to be part of is the financial statement review in these meetings,” Henry said, adding that next year the committee will refine how often it reviews actuals versus budget and request explanations when variances occur.

Board members asked whether the audit committee’s remit should expand to include staffing and attrition metrics tied to budget risk. Committee members said they considered staffing implications when reviewing five‑year budget planning but that cost‑savings from unfilled positions are not identical to realized reductions because unfilled roles are not paid rather than producing immediate cuts in contracted obligations.

The committee urged continued monitoring of open‑enrollment exit data and survey results to help gauge risk to tuition and state funding assumptions. The board thanked the audit committee for its oversight and requested that the committee include more timely financial statements and variance explanations in next year’s cadence.