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Riverhead board accepts unmodified audit, approves series of routine contracts and appropriations
Summary
Trustees accepted an unmodified opinion from external auditors on the 2023-24 financial statements and approved a series of routine contracts, MOAs, field trips and donations at the Oct. 15 meeting; the federal grants audit remains outstanding and is expected by Thanksgiving.
Alan Walther, a partner at the Bonadio Group, told the Riverhead Central School District Board of Education on Oct. 15 that his firm will issue an unmodified opinion on the district—s 2023-24 financial statements, the highest level of assurance. He said the auditors found no internal control or compliance findings and summarized the district—s financial position: a total fund balance of $41,000,000, with $26,000,000 in reserves and $7,800,000 unreserved, representing about 3.87% of the budget and within New York State—s 4% fund-balance limitation.
Walther said the audit of federal grants remains to be completed and is anticipated by Thanksgiving; that review is due by March 31 to the relevant state authorities. After the presentation, trustees voted to accept the annual financial statements and the independent auditors— report.
Following the audit presentation, the board approved a package of routine business items by voice vote. The actions recorded in the meeting transcript included approval of the consent agenda and separate approvals for: a contract to provide UPK services to Just Kids; a memorandum of agreement (MOA) updating the RCFA salary schedule and a related MOA to create an RCFA sick bank; a corrected employment agreement extension (correction noted as clerical only, not changing terms or compensation); tax-levy appropriations; an agreement with SUNY Stony Brook; an intermunicipal student-transportation agreement with Hampton Bays for a Key Club rally; cooperative bids for cesspool pumping; contract awards for carpentry and snow removal; a contract for retail groceries and grocery delivery supporting the culinary and life-skills curriculum; participation in the Eastern Suffolk BOCES cooperative bidding program insurance indemnification; rescission of a consultant contract with Lisa Riemi; rejection of bids for tennis-court maintenance and repair; disposal of surplus equipment; approval of three field trips; and acceptance of several donations.
On field trips, the board approved travel for several student groups including a high-school music ensemble trip to a festival in Boston and wrestling team travel to Albany and the Dan Wickham Classic in Otego. The meeting record lists approximate district-cost figures that are unclear in the transcript; those per-trip cost figures were not specified in the board materials reviewed during the meeting.
Donations approved included games, books and toys for Aquabag Elementary; a $250 donation from the RCFA to the Key Club for a safe-Halloween event; and a $1,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Riverhead to the Interact Club.
The board handled the items as routine business with a series of motions and voice votes; the transcript records the chair calling for "all in favor" and stating that motions passed but does not include roll-call vote tallies for these routine approvals. The board also discussed logistics for the Key Club safe-Halloween event (Oct. 31).
The most recent outstanding procedural item noted by auditors is completion of the federal grants audit, anticipated by Thanksgiving. The acceptance of the unmodified audit and approval of the routine items preserve the district—s current financial reporting position while leaving the federal-grants review pending.
