External auditor issues clean opinion; board approves consensus agenda including reserve allocations

The Niagara‑Wheatfield Central School District Board of Education heard from external audit partner Luke Palacky, who said the auditors had "satisfactory evidence to determine that we have an unmodified or clean opinion on the financial statements" for the year ended June 30, 2025. The draft financial statements are in quality control review and will be submitted to the state on ST-3 forms once finalized.

Palacky told the board the district reported roughly $82.3 million in general‑fund revenues and about $79.7 million in expenditures, producing a roughly $2.6 million increase in fund balance for the year. He attributed much of the year‑over‑year expenditure change to federal COVID‑era grants winding down and to salary shifts when federal‑funded positions moved back into the general fund. He also said transportation contract costs increased by about $500,000 this past year.

The auditor outlined management's proposed use of the year-end results to increase reserves. Diana, the districtAssistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration, described specific allocations later in the meeting: $2,250,000 to the voter‑approved capital reserve, $500,000 to a capital technology reserve, $1,000,000 to a transportation reserve, and increases to employee‑benefit reserves to cover anticipated retirement payouts. Palacky said the proposed reserve plan would be presented as resolutions later in the meeting.

Palacky cautioned that a separate federal single‑audit report on federal awards is pending because the federal compliance supplement was not finalized; that report will be issued later. He also said a management letter and an auditor communications letter summarizing audit responsibilities and significant accounting policies would be provided to the district.

On a compliance point, Palacky showed the districtis within the limit of Real Property Tax Law (§1318) that restricts unassigned fund balance, concluding the district is at or near the 4% threshold.

After the presentation the board approved the meeting's consensus agenda items 1 through 6 as presented, a package that the auditor and business office referenced as including the reserve resolutions and related budget items. The board then approved personnel items 1 through 16 by voice vote.

The auditor and district staff flagged a few other fund details for board attention: the school lunch fund exceeded a state action threshold (about 53% fund balance) that will require an action plan; the special aid fund declined by roughly $1.5 million as ESSER/GEER grant activity wound down; and capital projects showed increased activity tied to the 2022 capital program with about $23 million in outlays in the current period versus $6.4 million the prior year. Palacky said the negative fund balance in the capital projects fund reflects outstanding BAN (bond anticipation note) financing that will convert to long‑term debt and reverse the deficit when recorded as revenue.

The presentation closed with auditors making themselves available for follow up: "If anything comes up as you're going through these financial statements, please don't hesitate to reach out to myself or Corey Sevinson," Palacky said.

The board did not take a separate roll‑call vote on the audit presentation itself; the draft statements remain subject to final quality control and to the federal awards report.