SC Public Charter School District Board accepts clean audit, reports $2.5M general fund balance

The South Carolina Public Charter School District Board of Trustees voted Dec. 12 to accept the district—s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, after auditors Malden and Jenkins issued an unmodified (clean) opinion.

Deputy Superintendent of Financial Services Nick Michael introduced the report and turned the presentation to Brian Nicholson, engagement director with Malden and Jenkins. Nicholson told trustees the audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards and that the firm found no material weaknesses, no significant deficiencies in internal control and no instances of noncompliance requiring reporting. "We did issue an unmodified or a clean opinion on the district's June 30, 2024 financial statements," Nicholson said.

Nicholson said the district continues to qualify for single-audit coverage because it spends more than $750,000 in federal funds. As part of federal-program testing, auditors sampled at least 20% of federal expenditures and highlighted the special education cluster ($3,100,000) and Title I ($3,900,000) as material federal program amounts reviewed. He also reported a $2,500,000 general fund balance at year end and described a five-year trend that included a 2022 dip tied to a transfer to the capital projects fund.

Board members congratulated the finance team and external auditors for the clean report. Trustee Steven Gilchrist thanked Superintendent Neely, Nick Michael and the finance staff for maintaining fiscal integrity and transparency. In discussion, trustees asked for a wording clarification on page 11 of the audit report about the reporting entity; staff agreed to revise the language for clarity to reflect audit-reporting requirements under the Charter Act.

A board member said 11 charter schools submitted their audits late; the district has issued corrective-action letters and will work with the schools in January to reduce compliance risk and administrative burden on district staff. "They do stand to always put us at risk when they're late and don't comply with the law," the speaker said.

Madam Chair put the recommendation to accept the FY2024 audited financial report to a voice vote; the board voted in favor and the chair announced "all ayes." Staff confirmed the audit report is posted on the district website and will be submitted to the State Department of Education to meet statutory requirements.

The board did not identify any required follow-up motions during the meeting beyond the corrective actions for late audits. The meeting adjourned with holiday remarks.