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Newburgh City School District board approves corrective action plan after state audit
Summary
The board approved a corrective action plan responding to a February 2026 Office of the State Comptroller financial management audit after a presentation and questions about reserve funds, state aid uncertainty, and the audit follow-up process; the motion passed by roll call (5–1).
The Newburgh City School District Board of Education on May 4 approved a corrective action plan responding to a February 2026 Office of the State Comptroller financial management audit after a presentation and discussion with district staff.
Murray, the district presenter, summarized the audit scope — a financial management review covering July 2019 through June 2024 that included an entry meeting in May 2024 and fieldwork through November 2024 — and the audit committee’s focus on employee benefits. "So tonight, we're going to review the proposed corrective action plan from the state comptroller's audit," Murray said as he opened the presentation.
Trustees questioned several technical and policy points during the discussion. Board members raised concerns about the timing and uncertainty of state aid figures the district uses to build its budget; Murray said the final state budget can arrive after voters act on the district’s proposition and explained that if additional state aid materializes the board can amend the budget later rather than issue direct refunds. On the possibility of returning surplus dollars directly to taxpayers, Murray said, "There's no mechanism in law that allows us to issue a tax refund." He added that the usual approaches are to designate surplus into restricted reserves, pay down debt to reduce future debt service, or apply funds to the next year's budget to avoid tax increases.
The presenter also described the comptroller’s Recommendation 2 urging districts to reduce unassigned fund balance to comply with statutory limits; Murray stated the district is currently within the 4% limit referenced by the comptroller and that some reserves (for workers' compensation, unemployment and capital projects) are restricted and — for capital reserves — require voter approval to spend.
A trustee asked whether the Office of the State Comptroller approves or formally accepts corrective action plans. Murray said the district must submit the corrective action plan and it will be publicly available, but that the comptroller's office "neither approve[s] or reject[s]" the plan and does not typically perform a cyclical follow-up audit on every recommendation.
After discussion, the board took a formal motion to approve the corrective action plan in response to the Office of the State Comptroller financial management audit. The board recorded a roll-call vote with five trustees voting yes and one trustee voting no; the motion passed. The board also discussed that a recent building condition survey will inform future capital work and that some projects identified for a 2019 cash-flow bond may be delayed because of cost escalation.
The corrective action plan will be submitted and posted as required by state rules and the board adjourned the special meeting later the same evening.
