The South River Board of Education heard an auditor's report stating the district's fiscal records were in order and received several routine approvals during the meeting.

Peter Vankowitz, partner at St. Michael Klein and Company, told the board the audit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, resulted in an unmodified opinion. "We have what's called an unmodified opinion, meaning the records were presented properly to us," Vankowitz said. He said the audit found no conditions requiring a corrective action plan and that the district's payroll, expenditures, meal counts and enrollment verification met the testing standards used by the auditors.

The auditor described the procedures used: random samples of payroll and expenditures, verification of October 15 enrollment counts, review of food-service meal counts and bank reconciliations. He said bank reconciliations were performed monthly by an independent treasurer and that the audit report was filed on time.

The board acted on the routine items on the agenda after the audit presentation. A motion to approve the Board Secretary and Treasurer reports for November 2024 — certifying that no major accounts had been overexpended and sufficient funds were available for the remainder of the fiscal year — was made and approved. The board also approved use-of-facilities requests numbered 683 through 701 and approved the minutes for the December 16 special meeting and reorganization items noted on the agenda.

Superintendent and staff follow-up: after the audit presentation the superintendent asked staff to prepare a formal resolution accepting the audit for a future agenda. No substantive audit recommendations or corrective actions were identified by the auditor.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes (special meeting Dec. 16; reorganization Jan. 2): approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; counts not specified in the transcript).

- Use-of-facilities requests Nos. 683–701: approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; counts not specified in the transcript).

- Financial reports (Board Secretary and Treasurer reports; November 2024): approved (motion and second; vote recorded as "Aye"; counts not specified in the transcript).

- Motion to enter closed session to discuss attorney–client privilege and personnel matters: approved (vote recorded as "Aye"; counts not specified in the transcript).

No board member questions required follow-up changes to the audit opinion. The auditor said the district received two packaged documents: a larger informational document compiled with business-office input and a shorter representation letter from the auditors; he emphasized the auditor's unmodified opinion is the only portion that "belongs to us."