Oak Park auditors give district an unmodified opinion; general fund posts $3.04 million decrease

John Ringline, senior manager with the district's audit firm, presented the Oak Park School District's 2025 financial audit to the Board of Education on Dec. 8. Ringline said the firm issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements — the highest level of assurance the auditors can provide — and found no material weaknesses in the financial-statement audit portion.

Ringline said the auditors also performed required procedures on federal awards and tested the child nutrition cluster and Title I programs. "We did not have any findings associated with either of those two programs," he said, adding there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies identified for those federal programs.

The presentation showed a $3,037,189 decrease in the district's general fund for FY 2025. Ringline attributed the variance primarily to lower-than-expected revenues and timing differences tied to federal and state aid recognition. He told trustees that the district's general-fund balance finished the year at about $11,446,518 and that the district's overall fund balance across all funds was reported at about $31,200,000.

Ringline reviewed the new capital-project activity for 2025 and said the 2025 capital project fund held roughly $16,700,000 in bond proceeds and related investments. He also noted that although expenditures were below budget, revenue shortfalls — including the winding down of ESSER federal funds and timing of state aid — contributed to the negative change in fund balance.

On budget-to-actual reporting, Ringline said the district came in under budget on expenditures but that reported final revenues were roughly $56,300,000 compared with a budgeted $58,800,000, a variance the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) may flag for follow-up. "You budgeted for a net change in fund balance of about a decrease of 2,100,000, but the actual change was a decrease of 3,000,000," he said, noting MDE often asks finance staff for explanations when final figures differ materially from adopted budgets.

Ringline also discussed accounting changes under recent GASB guidance, including a year-over-year increase in the district's reported compensated-absences liability that reduced net position by about $233,000. He recommended timing a final budget amendment closer to June 30 to give the board a more accurate gauge of year-end revenues and reduce variance risk.

Trustees asked clarifying questions during and after the presentation. Ringline said the firm will submit the single-audit materials and the data-collection forms to MDE and federal authorities once the compliance supplement timing is resolved.

The board did not take action on the audit presentation at the meeting; Ringline provided the audit packet and slides for the record and for follow-up with district finance staff.