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St. Helens board accepts 2023–24 audit, approves plan of action after ClearTrail review
Summary
Board accepted an unmodified opinion on the district's 2023-24 financial statements, endorsed a corrective plan addressing two material weaknesses and a significant deficiency, and directed reconciliations and timing changes to improve reporting.
The St. Helens School District 502 Board of Education on May 28 accepted the district's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2024, and approved a plan of action to address findings raised by ClearTrail CPAs.
The audit partner, Tara Camp of ClearTrail CPAs, told the board the firm issued an "unmodified opinion on the basic financial statements," meaning the auditors expressed a clean opinion on the numbers presented by district management. Camp said the firm found one state compliance exception for a budget overexpenditure and reported two material weaknesses and one significant deficiency in the schedule of findings and questioned costs.
The findings included misstatements in the district's long-term debt summary and material errors in accounting for the Student Investment Account Fund, including pass-through payments to charter schools and deferred revenue not recorded at June 30, 2024. Auditors also noted multiple adjusting journal entries posted after the audit began because the books were not closed and finalized as required.
Christy Woodard, the district chief financial officer, presented a written plan of action the district developed with the auditors. The plan calls for correcting and reconciling the debt schedule, implementing semiannual reconciliations for pass-through revenues and deferred revenue, improving close and audit-preparation timelines so necessary journal entries are recorded before audit field work, and other controls intended to prevent recurrence.
Board members moved to accept the 2023-24 audited financial statements and then approved a resolution adopting the plan of action. Both motions were seconded and carried by voice vote.
Camp told the board audit work was hampered by turnover and by management not being fully prepared at the start of field work; she praised CFO Woodard and interim superintendent Dr. Karen Gray for cooperation during the audit and said auditors had no disagreements with management on accounting or auditing matters.
The audit and the board-approved plan of action will be posted on the district website, Woodard said.
Why it matters: The auditor's findings and the board's approval of a corrective plan affect the district's financial controls and public confidence going into adoption of next year's budget and any future financial oversight actions.
