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Auditor gives Sumter schools a clean opinion but flags a capital-asset restatement and CDL testing lapse
Summary
External auditor Mauldin & Jenkins issued an unmodified opinion for the district’s 06/30/2025 financial statements but noted a $1.7M restatement of capital assets (material weakness) and a shortfall in CDL drug-testing compliance; the single-audit of Title I and Special Education was clean.
Brian Nicholson of Mauldin & Jenkins presented the Sumter School District’s fiscal year 2025 audit to the board on March 23, saying the auditors issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the financial statements.
Nicholson told trustees the audit yielded a material weakness (2025-001) that stemmed from a $1.7 million restatement of beginning capital assets as of June 30, 2024, caused by a previously double-counted asset. He said the district resolved the restatement as of June 30, 2025.
"Our audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards ... We did issue a clean or unmodified opinion over the financial statements," Nicholson said. He also noted one instance of noncompliance (2025-002) related to commercial driver license (CDL) drug and alcohol testing: the district was slightly below the state’s 50% drug-testing threshold for drivers.
The single-audit over federal programs — required because the district spends more than $750,000 in federal awards — found the Special Education Cluster and Title I to be major programs and issued a clean opinion with no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies.
Nicholson highlighted that the district’s unassigned general fund balance was about $62.1 million (roughly 38% of annual expenditures), well above the state’s minimum (8.3%) and exceeding Government Finance Officers Association best practices (20–25%). He encouraged clear public communication of results; Trustee Brian Austin asked that the audit findings be presented in layman's terms for the public.
The board heard Nicholson’s recommendations and the administration noted corrective steps for the CDL testing and capital-asset reporting issues; no formal action was required at the meeting.
