External auditors give Superior School District an unmodified opinion; flag compliance paperwork to fix
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Summary
External auditors told the board they issued an unmodified opinion on the district’s 2024–25 financial statements but flagged recurring internal-control items and a new compliance issue: missing signed medical-consent documentation used for Medicaid billing. The district plans corrective action and DPI oversight.
An independent audit firm gave the Superior School District an unmodified opinion on its combined financial statements for 2024–25, board members heard Monday, signaling auditors found the district’s reported amounts and disclosures to be materially correct.
"We've issued an unmodified opinion," said Brock Guyen, the audit engagement principal, who led the presentation to the Committee of the Whole. He said the district's audit timing was delayed this year by a federal compliance-supplement release but the firm opted to issue one combined set of reports rather than staggered filings.
Guyen described the most common areas for audit adjustments as recurring internal-control matters tied to limited back-office staffing and segregation of duties. "Those are not new," he said, and characterized them as typical for districts where staff perform multiple functions.
A distinct compliance finding emerged from federal testing this year: auditors tested a program they had not sampled in recent cycles and found at least one student file lacked a signed medical consent form required to bill Medicaid. "There was one student in which we didn't have a piece of paper where a parent had signed off on it," said district staff member David (finance). Auditors said the district will submit corrective action plans for the items noted and that the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) will review the district's responses.
Guyen emphasized follow-up will occur in the next audit cycle to verify corrective actions were implemented. "The subsequent year, we do follow-up to make sure what you said you were gonna do actually happened," he said.
Beyond compliance testing, auditors highlighted several financial positives. The district reported a positive change in combined General Fund results in 2025 (about $2.9 million) and continues a four-year positive trend in fund balances. The district transferred $3.5 million to its OPEB (post-employment benefits) trust and moved $2 million toward a long-term capital improvement plan, steps Guyen said improved long-term flexibility and reduced outstanding debt. The district also paid down roughly $5.6 million in general-obligation principal during the year, lowering outstanding GO debt from about $67 million to $62 million.
Board members did not take formal action on the audit at the meeting; staff said they will work with auditors to finalize any required corrective-action documentation and respond to DPI as required.
The audit presentation and discussion were part of the Committee of the Whole meeting held Feb. 2, 2026. Next steps include district submission of corrective actions, auditor follow-up in the next cycle, and any DPI correspondence related to the compliance items.
