Isle of Wight school board hears improved audit, votes to award HVAC contract and reappropriate surplus; parents press bus funding

The Isle of Wight County School Board on Jan. 16 received an auditor’s update that showed notable improvements in the school division’s financial reporting while a parent speaker urged immediate action on the district’s aging bus fleet and driver pay. The board also approved several action items, including awarding a contract for the Carrollton Elementary HVAC replacement and requesting county reappropriation of surplus funds for textbooks.

The auditor, Aaron Hawkins of Robinson Farmer Cox, told the board that this year’s audit required far fewer corrective adjustments than in fiscal 2023 and that the finance office had “a lot of great things to talk about.” He also highlighted one persistent problem: the Child Nutrition Cluster federal finding that was a repeat for fiscal 2023. “That is a repeat finding for this year,” Hawkins said, adding the division had taken corrective steps on other prior findings and that the annual school report filing issue had been addressed.

Why it matters: better financial reporting can improve county and state confidence and reduce follow-up audit work. But the repeat federal finding tied to the Child Nutrition Cluster could affect future federal compliance reviews and requires continued corrective action by nutrition and finance staff.

During public comment, parent and transportation advocate Tiffany Parker pressed the board on the age and readiness of the bus fleet. “Currently, 44% of our buses are over 15 years old, with mileage approaching or exceeding 300,000 miles,” Parker said, noting Virginia Department of Transportation guidance that buses at that mileage and…