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Auditor flags three new single-audit findings, district staff say issues are correctable
Summary
The district—s independent auditor reported three new single-audit findings for fiscal 2025 — including a Title I overclaim tied to duplicated payroll reporting, an improper school-lunch eligibility determination, and an unsubmitted meal report that may have left state reimbursements unclaimed — and said staff are implementing fixes.
Bill Newer, a CPA with Newkerk Associates, told the La Salle-Peru Township High School District 120 board on May 20 that delays in federal compliance guidance pushed back the final audit but that the district—s fiscal statements were deliverable once guidance was finalized.
The auditor summarized three categories of adjusting journal entries and said auditors found three new single-audit findings related to federal programs, which he described as "correctable" and not necessarily ongoing problems.
"There was an overclaim" in Title I expenditure reporting, Newer said, explaining that July and August payroll for teachers are on the prior contract year and had been claimed twice when the district pulled general ledger detail for fiscal 2025 reporting. He said staff and auditors discussed mitigation steps including additional internal review and the possibility of using distinct account numbers to separate program years.
Newer also described a school-lunch eligibility error: in a sample of paper applications, one application contained income reported at a level that should not have qualified for free lunch but was marked as eligible. He said staff will add a second-review step during registration to reduce errors.
A third finding stemmed from a reporting submission mistake: meal counts for a sampling period last May were entered in the meal software but the final summary page was not submitted to the state, meaning the district had not received reimbursement at the time of the audit. Newer said the underlying documentation showed meals were served and that the error was clerical; the district—s staff changed their procedures to include printed screenshots and an additional review before submission.
Newer told trustees the findings were new — not repeats from prior years — and that the district—s accounting staff had already begun corrective entries and control changes. "I don't have any concerns going forward," he said, noting staff—s proactive response and his expectation that the matters can be resolved before becoming repeat findings.
Board members asked whether there was adequate time to correct the errors before next year—s audit; Newer replied that he believed there was and said he plans to return to the board in a few months to follow up.
The board received the auditor—s report and exit review; no formal vote was required beyond accepting the report on the agenda.
