North Polk board receives clean FY24 audit, approves new enrollment caps, gym refinishing and hazard plan; PEPL renewal set for March 4 vote

The North Polk Community School District Board of Education on Tuesday heard an unmodified audit opinion for fiscal year 2024 and approved a slate of routine and planning items, including open-enrollment caps for 2025–26, a contract to refinish the high school gym floor and Polk County's hazard mitigation plan. The board also discussed the upcoming voter decision on the district's physical plant and equipment levy, which is set to sunset June 30, 2026.

Auditor Nick Staley, CPA and partner at TrustPoint, told the board the audit produced an unmodified opinion — the highest level of assurance — and that auditors found no material weaknesses in internal control or noncompliance with federal or state award requirements. "So this is just a nice way of saying this is an unmodified opinion that we've issued on the financial statements," Staley said during his presentation.

Why it matters: An unmodified opinion indicates the district's financial statements "present fairly in all material respects" for the year ending June 30, 2024, which supports transparency to taxpayers and to state reviewers. Staley highlighted two findings of lesser significance: a variance in certified enrollment data that the district reported to the Iowa Department of Education and has since addressed by letter, and a small deficit (about $250) in a student activity account (reported as girls' basketball) that the auditor recommended the district eliminate by transferring funds within student activity accounts.

Board members praised district staff for the audit process. One board member said the report's results…