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External audit gives Trenton schools an unmodified opinion; fund balance up but charter aid complicates planning
Summary
PKF O'Connor Davies issued an unmodified opinion on the district's financial statements, reported a roughly $8.6M increase in fund balance and highlighted restricted encumbrances, capital reserves and the unpredictability of charter school aid.
An external audit presented March 23 to the Trenton Board of Education found the district’s financial statements in sound condition and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion, the auditor said.
Dave Gannon, partner at PKF O'Connor Davies LLP, told the board the audit’s prime objective is to provide an opinion on the district’s financial statements and perform federal and state single-audit testing where required. The auditor said the district received the best possible audit opinion, meaning accounting principles were properly applied and supporting documentation was adequate for sampled transactions.
Gannon said year-over-year the district’s fund balance increased by about $8.6 million to roughly $113.3 million. He explained components of that balance: approximately $33.4 million are encumbrances (contracts/purchase orders tied to capital projects), $15.0 million planned for the 2026 budget, $11.8 million restricted for maintenance, $18.7 million restricted for capital reserve and roughly $8.2 million unrestricted (the maximum permitted under statute, about 2% plus adjustments). He also noted an excess surplus amount of roughly $26.2 million that is earmarked for the 2027 spending plan.
Gannon reviewed the district’s federal COVID-era ARP/ESSER funding and said the district used about $70 million of those funds thoughtfully for one-time needs rather than recurring budget items. He cautioned that charter-school aid has grown (from about $55 million to $69 million year-to-year and doubled since 2019), creating unpredictability for planning.
On internal controls and compliance, Gannon said auditors perform sampling and testing but do not provide a formal internal-control opinion; nonetheless, no items that required corrective action were identified. He said the food-service fund remains self-sufficient (about $6.3 million) after investments in equipment and program quality.
Board members asked follow-up questions about internal controls, pension liabilities and cash management; Gannon said pension liabilities are set by the state and the district has no long-term debt. The board accepted the audit presentation and thanked the auditors.
No formal audit-related corrective actions or findings requiring board-directed remediation were reported during the presentation.
