Audit: Litchfield earns unmodified opinion; Auditor General report shows 71.3% classroom spending

The Litchfield Elementary School District governing board accepted the district's annual audit for fiscal year 2025 and discussed the Arizona Auditor General's Dollars in the Classroom spending analysis at its April 14 meeting.

Audit partner Eric Taylor of Heinfeld Meech & Co. reported the audit produced an "unmodified opinion on the financial statements," meaning the firm found the statements materially correct. Taylor said the federal compliance testing of the child nutrition program produced no findings this year and the state compliance review recorded seven instances of noncompliance identified in the reporting process. "Your financial statement audit, you received an unmodified opinion on the financial statements," Taylor told the board.

CFO Vaughn then walked the board through the Auditor General's district spending report. He said the district's classroom spending was 71.3% in 2025, with 57.5% of that figure categorized as direct instructional expenses. Vaughn highlighted that the auditor placed Litchfield's administrative spending in the "very low" range and noted the district has less building square footage per student than peers.

Board members asked several clarifying questions about average teacher pay and how peer groups are determined. Vaughn said recent shifts in the workforce's experience level (a growing share of teachers in their first three years) have moderated the district's average salary despite locally administered compensation studies. "When you think about what any individual teacher makes, it's primarily two factors: level of education and level of experience," Vaughn said.

After the presentation, Mr. Mike moved and Mr. Owens seconded a motion to accept the audit from Heinfeld Meech & Co.; the board voted unanimously to accept the report.

Next steps: The district will continue publishing explanatory context on compensation and spending comparisons as part of outreach materials.