South Country Central board unanimously approves up to $27.5M in tax anticipation notes and authorizes forensic audit

The South Country Central School District Board of Education in Brookhaven unanimously approved two related tax-anticipation note resolutions and a forensic-audit resolution during its Sept. 9, 2025, public meeting and then recessed to executive session.

Board President (speaker) opened the public agenda and read a resolution authorizing the issuance of tax anticipation notes (TANs) "in the principal amount of not to exceed $27,500,000" for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026. The resolution states the notes will be general obligations of the district and that proceeds will be used only for the school-purpose taxes for that fiscal year. The board also discussed and rescinded a prior resolution that had referenced $25,000,000 to correct a typographical discrepancy before voting.

Why it matters: TANs allow the district to borrow against expected tax receipts to meet cash-flow needs between tax collection periods. The board delegated authority in the TAN resolution to the board president or chief fiscal officer to sell and issue notes and to execute required tax certifications; it also described procedures for notifying the board in advance of any sale.

During the meeting the board approved a separate "timely issuance" resolution to waive the 10-day written-notice requirement in Section 4(b) of the TAN resolution for issuance of TANs up to $27,500,000. Trustee Feliceta moved to approve the waiver and Trustee Ross seconded; a roll call recorded unanimous "Yes" votes from trustees present. Speaker 3 announced the vote as unanimous.

On the forensic audit, Board President (speaker) read a resolution stating the board's fiduciary obligation to review prior accounting and financial actions and concluded that a forensic audit would help identify any inappropriate financial actions and inform longer-term financial planning and internal-control improvements. The resolution authorizes the board president, in consultation with general counsel, to appoint one or more forensic auditors to examine the district's financial activity beginning July 2024 and to sign engagement contracts subject to counsel review, with a maximum engagement cost of $10,000. Trustee Pacini moved to adopt the forensic-audit resolution; Trustee Ross seconded the motion, and the board voted unanimously in favor.

A brief procedural exchange preceded adoption: some trustees debated whether to read the forensic-audit resolution aloud (counsel noted the text was posted to the public agenda and that a roll call was not required), but Speaker 1 read the resolution before the vote. After adopting the resolutions, the board voted to move into executive session and indicated it did not anticipate reporting further actions afterwards.

What the resolutions say on key details: the TAN authorization sets the maximum principal at $27,500,000 and requires any notes to mature within one year of issuance; the board pledged the district's faith and credit for punctual payment. The timely-issuance resolution waives the 10-day notice that otherwise would be required before a sale. The forensic-audit resolution authorizes auditors to review records beginning July 2024, delegates contract-signing authority to the board president (with counsel review), and caps the total cost at $10,000.

Next steps: The resolutions take effect immediately as stated in their text; the board recessed to executive session for further discussion. No further public actions were reported at the close of the meeting.