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District auditor issues unmodified opinion while flagging fund‑balance decline and two findings
Summary
The district's auditor reported an unmodified opinion on the June 30, 2025 financial statements but highlighted a $8.3 million decrease in general fund balance year‑over‑year and two findings related to state aid application counts and excess cash in the school food service fund.
The Asbury Park School District received an unmodified opinion on its annual comprehensive financial report for the year ended June 30, 2025, but the auditor warned the board about a substantial year‑over‑year drop in fund balance and two audit findings that could affect next year's budget. "We do have an unmodified opinion on the financial statements," auditor Jerry Conny told the board, adding that an accounting pronouncement on compensated absences produced an emphasis of matter but did not indicate district error.
Conny said the district's general‑fund balance declined about $8.3 million from the prior year, leaving approximately $8.7 million at year‑end. Of that total, roughly $1.8 million was held in designated reserves (capital maintenance, emergency and unemployment), about $2.76 million had been committed for use in the FY27 budget, and there were about $331,000 in encumbrances. He reported an unassigned fund balance of roughly $1.167 million and characterized an "excess surplus" figure of about $1.69 million that must be applied to the FY27 budget.
On compliance testing, the audit team performed federal single‑audit procedures on the child‑nutrition cluster and state testing on preschool education and SDA capital grants. Conny said the auditors identified two findings and recommendations: discrepancies between counts reported on the state school aid application and enrollment records, and excess net cash resources in the school food service fund. "We did have two findings for recommendation and corrective action," he said, urging the district to develop a plan to spend down food‑service cash that has accumulated since pandemic grant funding increased program resources.
The auditor also noted timing delays in completing the audit due to late state and federal releases of pension and compliance information, and directed board members to the report's management discussion and analysis for a concise synopsis. The board did not take formal action on the audit itself at the meeting; the presentation concluded with an invitation for questions.
