Geneva board hears clean audit, approves FY2024 annual financial report

The Geneva School Board on Jan. 13 heard that district auditors issued an unmodified — or "clean" — opinion on the fiscal year 2024 Annual Financial Report and approved the report in a subsequent board action.

Scott Denser, introduced as the district's lead auditor from Whipley, told the board the audit "issued an unmodified opinion, otherwise known as a clean opinion," meaning the financial statements "fairly represent all the material transactions" in the year and required no material adjustments. He said the district closed the year with a positive net position of about $53.9 million and a June 30, 2024 fund balance near $82 million, representing a fund-balance-to-expenditures ratio of roughly 56 percent.

Denser noted the district showed a nearly $2 million net loss across all funds, a figure that included about $10 million in capital-project spending housed in the capital-projects fund. "If you take out that," he said, "we'd have a net income." He also highlighted the district's bonded debt, which he estimated at about $86 million, and noted principal payments of roughly $9.7 million during the year.

Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation; Denser described the treatment of pension- and OPEB-related liabilities in the report, noting the district's portion of TRS net pension liability at about $3.6 million and an OPEB-related net liability near $11 million, with larger state-level shares reported in the supplemental information.

After the presentation the board moved to approve the AFR as presented. The motion was seconded and carried on the board's voice/roll-call procedure.

The district will submit the annual financial report through the state's IWAS system to the Illinois State Board of Education as required, the auditor said. No further adjustments were recommended at the meeting.