North Syracuse board hears clean audit; district shows strong reserves despite pension and OPEB liabilities

An independent auditor told the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education on Oct. 6 that the district received an unmodified, or "clean," audit opinion for the fiscal year and that auditors found no material weaknesses in internal controls. Michael, an auditor with Grossman St. Amore, delivered the report and reviewed pension and other post‑employment benefit figures and general fund activity.

The auditor said the district's pension-related net position shows a roughly $12,000,000 figure for the ERS proportionate liability/asset and that the teachers' retirement system (TRS) position is fully funded. He described the district's OPEB (other post‑employment benefits) long‑term liability at about $256,000,000, noting that those numbers fluctuate with actuarial assumptions such as the discount rate. "The unmodified audit opinion is a clean audit opinion," the auditor said, adding auditors found no material weaknesses and routine, noncritical recommendations for continued improvement.

Grossman St. Amore also summarized the general fund, reporting an overall net decrease of about $4.3 million and a year‑end fund balance in the neighborhood of $43 million, much of it held in established reserves consistent with district policy. The auditor reviewed federal grant compliance work, noting about $10 million in federal expenditures this year versus $15 million the previous year and that the district had no compliance finding in the special‑education cluster testing. He cautioned that the district cannot release the federal single‑audit report until the Office of Management and Budget issues a compliance supplement used in federal reporting.

The board moved to accept the independent auditor's report during the meeting; the motion was called and approved as part of the evening's action items. The audit will be filed with relevant state and federal offices once the compliance supplement is available and district staff complete the filing steps.