Independent auditors give St. Mary's County Public Schools a clean FY25 opinion; state aid audit to begin Oct. 20

Independent auditors presented an unmodified (clean) opinion on St. Mary's County Public Schools' fiscal year 2025 financial statements and the federally required single audit at the Board of Education meeting Wednesday, saying they found no material misstatements, no material weaknesses in internal control and no single-audit findings.

Chris Lehman, engagement partner for the district's audit firm, told the board that the firm "issued a clean or unmodified opinion on both the financial statement audit as well as the single audit," and that auditors "did not discover any instances of fraud." Lehman said auditors tested significant areas including cash controls, receivables, capital assets, payroll and grant compliance, and reported no proposed adjustments to the financial statements.

Tammy McCourt, finance staff overseeing fiscal reporting for SMCPS, said the clean report reflects coordinated work across departments. "We received full cooperation and management; all records we asked for were properly supported," she said during the presentation.

Board members highlighted the significance of a clean report for a large local school system. The auditors noted the single-audit sampling covered major federal programs including Title I, Title IV and Impact Aid; the firm tested roughly $6.4 million of federal program expenditures out of about $27 million total federal spending and judged the district a "low risk auditee."

Separately, SMCPS staff told the board they have received a 9-page notification from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) that the Office of Audit will begin a separate state aid audit on Monday, Oct. 20. That audit will cover fiscal years 2024–2026 and enrollment reporting for school years 2023–2025. The MSDE review will be broader than a financial statement audit: MSDE will test enrollment, special education counts, pre-kindergarten eligibility, transportation (including driver and vehicle records), concentration-of-poverty spending, career-ladder payments and college-and-career readiness indicators, among other areas.

Tammy McCourt described the state audit as routine and on a regular rotation, saying: "These audits are not being conducted because there is a concern about the finances of St. Mary's County Public Schools. They are being conducted because they're on a regular rotation as every school district is with MSDE." She said MSDE will use a hybrid model — primarily remote testing with some on-site field work — and that SMCPS expects the audit team may be on site up to four weeks.

Board members and staff are preparing large document sets and sample records for MSDE. Staff listed required samples and records that the state will request, including individual student enrollment packets, residency and immunization documentation, IEPs for sampled special-education students, driver certifications and vehicle inspection records for student transportation, pay and assignment records for career-ladder teachers, and evidence supporting concentration-of-poverty expenditures.

MSDE will issue a formal report if it finds noncompliance or recommendations; SMCPS staff said the timeline for public reporting of a state aid audit can range from months to a year depending on MSDE processing. Board members asked that results be posted publicly when they become available.

The audit presentations and the MSDE notice were informational items; no final board action was recorded on the state aid audit at the meeting.