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Auditors report 'clean, unmodified' opinions; district returns roughly $3 million to reserves
Summary
External auditors told the school board they issued three unmodified opinions on the district’s financial statements and federal/state grant compliance, noting no instances of noncompliance and that actual use of reserves was smaller than projected, returning roughly $3 million to district reserves.
Brian Waldron, partner at the auditors’ firm Polyphony Nelson, told the Middletown Township Public School District board the firm issued three “clean, unmodified” opinions for the district’s 2024 financial reporting, including the independent audit report and internal‑control testing related to federal and state grant programs.
“The financial statements are materially stated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles… It’s an unmodified opinion,” Waldron said, adding the internal‑control and single‑audit‑related reports were also unmodified and showed “no instances of noncompliance to report.”
Waldron summarized key budget figures: total revenues rose about 1.5% in 2024 while expenditures rose roughly 4.5%. The auditors had anticipated using a little more than $11 million of prior balances and reserves but reported the district actually used about $8 million, returning approximately $3 million to the district’s reserves, which ended the year near $7.9 million. He explained the presentation differed this year because the district moved health‑insurance activity into an internal service fund, shifting some operating‑fund expenditures to that new fund.
Waldron also highlighted the district’s food‑service (enterprise) fund, reporting a positive operating result “roughly” $100,000 for the year and noting the auditors’ recommendation (reported in a smaller management letter) related to the Department of Education and Agriculture’s net‑cash‑resource calculation that limits excess food‑service funds to about three months of operating expenditures. He said the business administrator had already proposed and the board had acted on a plan to address any excess and that many districts face similar issues following COVID‑era funding changes.
The presentation concluded with Waldron thanking the board and district business staff for timely submissions and said he expected the final audit reports to be issued by the end of the week.
What’s next: Board members had the opportunity to ask questions during the meeting; auditors said they were available for follow‑up items as the board completes its review.
