Auditors give East Stroudsburg Area SD a clean opinion; pension and OPEB liabilities highlighted

External auditors told the East Stroudsburg Area School District board on Jan. 26 that the district received a clean opinion on its financial statements and a clean single-audit of federal awards, while summarizing several long-term liabilities and fund movements.

"It's a clean audit opinion on all of our audit areas," audit supervisor Rachel Gouger said, walking board members through the audit report. Gouger highlighted a negative net position of about $64.3 million driven largely by the district’s pension and OPEB liabilities and noted long-term debt of approximately $78 million. She said the general fund showed a fund balance of about $40.9 million with roughly $1.3 million unassigned, and a year-over-year general-fund decrease of about $10.3 million that was nonetheless roughly $7 million better than budgeted.

Gouger also pointed to the pension and post-employment liabilities in the notes: a total net pension liability of about $194 million and OPEB liabilities (two plans) totaling in the tens of millions. The auditors noted enterprise (food-service) fund improvements and reviewed line items such as capital-project decreases tied to ongoing construction.

Board members asked clarifying questions; auditors thanked finance staff for cooperation. The board accepted the audit report and later voted to approve the 2024–25 annual audit prepared by Axelrod LLC in accordance with the finance committee’s recommendation.

Next steps: board and administration will continue budget planning informed by audit notes; the finance committee will pursue items discussed (network upgrades, Act 1 resolution, and vendor payments).