Examiners give Montgomery Board an unmodified audit opinion; auditors flag procurement for crisis alert system, district outlines corrective measures

The Examiners of Public Accounts on Tuesday issued an unmodified opinion on the Montgomery County Board of Education’s financial statements for the year ending Sept. 30, 2024, but flagged one procurement finding for the installation of a crisis alert system.

The audit presentation, delivered by Jana White of the Examiners of Public Accounts, said auditors “issued an unmodified opinion on the board’s financial statements as of and for the fiscal year ended 09/30/2024,” and also issued an unmodified opinion on the district’s major federal financial assistance program for the year, which the auditors identified as the Education Stabilization Program.

The audit report included a single finding (2024‑001): that the board “failed to bid and purchase the installation of a crisis alert system in accordance with Title 39 and the Code of Alabama and its procurement policy,” White told the board. The full audit report is posted at www.examiners.alabama.gov, she said.

Chief Financial Officer Pamela Watkins responded to the finding and told the board the district “respectfully disagrees” with the auditors’ conclusion that the project should have been treated as a public‑works bid. Watkins said the district’s finance and procurement staff evaluated the purchase and treated it as safety and security rather than a public‑works construction project largely because about 90% of the contract cost is licensing and monitoring paid over five years.

Watkins said the district nevertheless accepts the importance of clear procurement processes and outlined corrective measures to reduce future audit risk. Those steps include: seeking legal guidance on purchases exceeding $100,000 to confirm compliance with public‑works bid law, adding bid‑law guidance to annual summer financial training for staff, and seeking state direction on additional training. Watkins said the district provided the examiners an anticipated completion date for implementing these measures of Sept. 30, 2025.

Watkins also presented broader financial materials to the board. She recommended an increase of $12 million in district reserves, citing slowed but continuing student enrollment decline that cost the district about $1.2 million in state funding this year and rising capital costs. Watkins said total reserves currently are about $124.9 million in the general fund with $23.1 million in identified reserves (capital, technology, security and vehicles). The recommended $12 million increase was described as a proposal to strengthen the district’s long‑term flexibility; transcript remarks did not record a board vote on that recommendation.

Watkins also presented the FY2025 budget amendment and the April 2025 financial statements, explaining that late state grants and carryover dollars require amendments to the originally filed budget and that some general‑fund balances are restricted by funding source. She described the general fund balance and line‑item earmarks, and noted a $124.9 million general fund figure from the snapshot analysis, of which about $93.9 million was described as local discretionary funds.

What it means: the district’s financial statements received a clean opinion from the state auditors, but the procurement finding requires steps the district has pledged to take. The board received a recommendation to increase reserves; no formal approval of that increase was recorded in the meeting transcript.

District statements and schedule: Watkins said the district anticipates completing the corrective‑action training and bid‑law review by Sept. 30, 2025. The auditors’ report and supporting materials are available at the state examiners’ website.