Haywood County Schools posts clean audit; general fund rises while child nutrition cash falls

Andy Deal, a partner with Anderson Smith and White and the auditor for Haywood County Schools, told the school board the district's fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, received an unmodified ("clean") audit report.

"An unmodified report, you could also call it a clean report," Deal said. He said the firm found no audit findings that would require modification of the auditor's opinion.

The audit presentation showed the district's general fund had an ending fund balance of just under $5,400,000 as of June 30, 2024, after a net increase of about $3,700,000 during the year. Deal told the board one-time grants'including a Department of Public Safety grant and a county COVID relief grant'helped boost that balance.

Deal also drew attention to the capital outlay fund, which the report shows with a deficit of about $1,000,000 attributed to FEMA reimbursements still outstanding from hurricane-related work. "That is strictly due to FEMA reimbursements we're waiting on," Deal said.

The district's Child Nutrition Fund showed a materially different picture: Deal said the fund had a decrease in cash of $731,000, beginning the year with roughly $1.5 million in cash and ending with about $800,000. "We had about a $700,000 decrease in cash," he said, and attributed the decline to a combination of a state minimum wage increase that raised labor costs, lower USDA revenues, and higher food costs.

Deal said the audit package includes four reports: the financial-statement opinion and three compliance reports (internal control over compliance, major federal programs, and major state programs). All four reports were unmodified with no findings.

Deal cautioned the board that federal COVID-19 relief funds that supported earlier years of spending will expire, reducing near-term revenue. He illustrated the scale of those funds in prior years and warned that the district could feel the effect of losing them going forward.

After the presentation, the board voted to accept the audit report unanimously.

The presentation and board discussion emphasized the need to monitor the Child Nutrition Fund cash balance because, if it is exhausted, the general fund could be required to cover the program.

During the meeting the board also approved a contract amendment to extend the audit completion date (the field work had been delayed after hurricane-related disruptions); that amendment was approved by unanimous roll call later in the meeting.