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Northwestern Lehigh SD audit returns clean opinion; district reports roughly $2.5 million surplus
Summary
Auditors from Gorman & Associates delivered a clean, unmodified opinion on the district's financial statements and single audit; staff reported a general fund ending balance of about $21.7 million and a year-over-year surplus driven by stronger-than-expected revenues and investment income.
Hank Miller of Gorman & Associates told the Northwestern Lehigh School District during a workshop presentation that the firm issued a clean, unmodified opinion on the district's 2024-25 financial statements and single audit, with no significant findings or control deficiencies.
"Happy to report you guys have a clean, unmodified opinion," Miller said, adding the firm issued a separate management-letter communication but found no reportable findings. Miller walked the board through the financial highlights, noting the general fund's final budgeted revenues were just under $51.8 million while actual revenues were roughly $53.8 million; budgeted expenditures were about $52.1 million with actual expenditures at approximately $51.4 million. Miller said those results left the general fund with a net change in fund balance of just over $2.0 million and an ending fund balance near $21,696,000.
Board members followed with questions about why the district's starting budget projections differed from final results and why actuarial adjustments for pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) produced a large one-year swing. District staff attributed the positive variance to stronger local tax collections, a later state budget that yielded more state revenues than initially projected, and higher-than-expected interest earnings on certificates of deposit. Staff also described actuarial pension and OPEB adjustments as noncash items that can produce sizable year-to-year swings.
The auditors also summarized the district's single audit of federal programs and characterized the district as a low-risk auditee for the 2024-25 year. Miller noted testing focused on the special-education cluster, which makes up just over 30% of federal awards, and reported no compliance findings.
The board indicated staff will present the financial statements for formal receipt at the February 18 regular meeting. The workshop closed the audit discussion with board appreciation for the work presented.
