Brian Waldron, the audit partner presenting to the Barnegat Township Board of Education, said the auditors issued unmodified opinions on the financial statements and on internal control and compliance, and reported no instances of noncompliance.

"We have issued an unmodified opinion," Waldron said, calling it "the best opinion that we can render." He told the board the district qualified for a single-audit test because federal expenditures in the year exceeded the $750,000 threshold. The auditors reviewed the child-nutrition cluster and the largest state-aid program and found no reportable noncompliance.

Waldron identified one repeat management comment related to the food-service fund: the district holds net cash resources in that fund above the state's recommended level (approximately three months of operating costs). He said the finance committee and business administrator have a plan to use those funds, including purchase orders for cafeteria equipment, to reduce the balance. "We do have that, it is a repeat comment that we had in the previous year," he said.

On fund balances, Waldron said the district's year-end balances were roughly $7.3 million (about $9.8 million when accounting for the last two state-aid receipts), a decrease of roughly $470,000 from the prior year. He also noted restatements to beginning balances tied to fixed-asset appraisal adjustments affecting the general fund and the food-service fund.

Board members asked a procedural question about outdated draft letterhead in the initial auditor draft; Waldron confirmed the final report shows current members and term dates. After discussion the board ultimately approved the annual audit following a brief tabling earlier in the meeting.