Independent auditor gives Wilson County Schools a clean opinion; fund-balance strong but federal COVID funds temporary

An independent audit presented to the Wilson County Board of Education on Dec. 9 found the district's June 30, 2024 financial statements to be accurate and issued a clean (unmodified) opinion.

Adam Saperick, a partner with Anderson, Smith & Wyke, told the board the audit opinion indicates the financial statements "accurately reflect the net position and the fund balance for Wilson County Schools as of June 30, 2024." He described it as a "clean, unmodified opinion letter."

Saperick said the district's general fund balance was $16,538,000 and emphasized that "fund balance is the most important numbers within the statements," because it represents resources available for future budgets. Within that total, the auditor noted assigned and designated components the board should consider when evaluating what is actually available for spending: $3,000,000 was assigned for next year's budget, $402,000 was designated for retirement assessments, and $12,577,000 remained unassigned.

The auditor described the other special revenue fund at roughly $5,000,000, with about $180,000 restricted for specific grants and roughly $310,000 considered unrestricted. The capital outlay fund showed about $2,987,000; funds held at individual schools totaled roughly $857,000.

Saperick cautioned that much of the recent increase in fund balance stems from federal education stabilization funds provided during the COVID-19 response. He said the district received large one-time federal allocations for construction and air-quality projects and that those education stabilization funds are expiring. "You're getting a very temporary bump in fund balance," Saperick said, warning that when those federal dollars are spent out, programs previously funded by federal sources will require local funding or reductions.

Saperick also reviewed business-type funds (child nutrition and childcare), reporting increased cash on hand for the school food service fund ($460,000) and the childcare fund ($402,000). He noted that child-nutrition participation and federal reimbursements have been key to maintaining positive cash flow, and reminded the board that any future shortfall in school-food service must be funded locally.

He told the board there were no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting or compliance, and no questioned costs for state or federal programs.

Why it matters: The audit gives the board and community an independent assurance of the accuracy of the district's financial reporting. The auditor's warning about the temporary nature of COVID-era federal funds signals budget decisions the board will face as those funds expire.

Discussion vs. action: The presentation was informational; the board did not take action on the audited statements during the public meeting. The auditor recommended monitoring how much fund balance is used in coming budgets.