Merrill Area School District board accepts clean audit, approves staffing, bus contract and budget contingency

MERRILL, Wis. ' The Merrill Area School District Board of Education on Feb. 19 accepted the district's 2023-24 financial audit, approved Head Start reports and several personnel and program changes, authorized a contract with the district's selected transportation provider, and approved a contingency transfer from fund balance for 2025-26 budget planning.

The board accepted an audit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, after a presentation from lead auditor John Troffman of CliftonLarsonAllen. Troffman told the board the firm issued "an unmodified opinion, a clean opinion" on the district's financial statements and described the district's general-fund reserve at the end of the year as roughly $8.8 million, or about 21% of expenditures.

The board also approved Head Start documents and program changes, added an Educators Rising co-op advisor position, approved two social-emotional learning (SEL) coach positions, authorized purchase of a CNC plasma cutter for the Fab Lab using grant funds, and voted to put a limited contingency use of fund balance on the table while finalizing the 2025-26 budget.

Why it matters: The audit acceptance confirms the external auditor's clean opinion for 2023-24 and provides board members and the public a financial baseline as administrators finalize a budget amid enrollment shifts and state-level funding uncertainty. The personnel and program approvals advance district efforts in early childhood services, career pathways and social-emotional supports, while the transportation contract and equipment purchases affect day-to-day operations and community partnerships.

Key facts and supporting details

- Audit: John Troffman said the audit produced an unmodified (clean) opinion and noted the district ended FY24 with a general-fund balance of about $8,806,000 (unassigned portion about $8,791,000), representing about 21% of…