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Audit shows unmodified opinion; board reviews budget outlook and staff recommends $6M bond for facilities
Summary
Auditors reported an unmodified opinion for fiscal 2024–25 but noted a prior-period restatement for cafeteria deferred revenue. The business administrator outlined a projected $1–1.6 million budget gap for 2026–27 and recommended moving forward with a roughly $6 million bond to address repaving, HVAC, security and fire-alarm projects.
An independent audit found McGuffey School District’s 2024–25 financial statements fairly presented with an unmodified opinion, but auditors reported a prior-period restatement tied to cafeteria deferred revenue and documented an internal control deficiency in financial reporting.
Nicole McCourt, manager on the engagement for Zelenkovsky Axrod LLC, told the board the audit required a restatement because deferred revenue in the cafeteria fund was not being released properly; that adjustment increased the cafeteria fund balance by about $47,000 in the restatement disclosure. The firm reported no compliance findings for federal programs, and the single-audit results showed the child‑nutrition cluster as a major program.
“An unmodified opinion is the highest opinion you can get,” the auditor said, while noting increased testing requirements next year because the district remains categorized as higher risk for reporting and because of prior delays in filing.
Business administrator Ashley Shar reviewed fund-balance projections and the proposed 2026–27 budget: total fund balance was estimated at $7.5 million after June 2025, with $4.5 million unassigned. Shar presented projected revenues near $35.9 million against expenditures of about $37.6 million, leaving a $1.0–1.6 million structural gap in the coming year under current assumptions. Salaries and benefits remain the largest expense category, making up roughly two-thirds of the budget.
Shar recommended the board consider a bond issue of approximately $6 million to finance needed facility projects, including repaving of multiple campuses, HVAC maintenance, security-camera and fire-alarm work. She said the bond has been structured to flatten payments over time and would reduce the need for a large one‑year expenditure out of the general fund.
Board members asked whether approval of the bond would occur at the same time as the final budget vote; administrators said yes — the bond decision will affect the final budget and would be placed on the agenda for a future meeting. Several board members and committee chairs asked for more information about assessed values, homestead/farmstead allocations and final state subsidy numbers before finalizing the budget and bond timeline.
What’s next: Administration will return with final budget numbers in June and a recommendation on the bond timeline; the board will vote on the final budget in June and expects a separate action on the bond when details are finalized.
