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Melrose Public School District receives clean FY24 audit; minor compliance item noted
Summary
External auditor presented an unmodified (clean) opinion on the district’s fiscal year 2024 financial statements and single-audit for federal programs; the audit noted a broker-acknowledgement compliance finding that has already been corrected for FY25 and internal-control observations (segregation of duties) but no material audit adjustments.
The Melrose Public School District received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for fiscal year 2024, the district’s external auditor told the school board at the meeting.
Audit presenter Ashley Meer summarized the financial results and said audit procedures found no unusual transactions or material misstatements. The auditor issued a clean opinion on the financial statements and a clean federal-program single audit for Child Nutrition. The presentation highlighted that state aid and student counts increased, general fund balance rose by roughly $494,000 to just over $5 million at June 30, 2024, and that unassigned fund balance equated to about 2.2 months of operating expenditures (policy target: roughly three months).
The auditor noted internal-control observations but no material audit adjustments. A recurring item — segregation of duties in the accounting function — was flagged as an area where additional staff or segregation processes could strengthen internal control; the presenter characterized this as common in similarly sized districts. The audit also included a Minnesota legal-compliance finding: the district had not obtained a broker acknowledgement certification for fiscal year 2024 investment activity. The presenter said that certification has since been obtained for FY25 and the finding will be reported as corrected.
Audience members asked how the district compares with similar districts; the auditor said the district’s fund-balance months and overall position are comparable to similarly sized districts. The presenter and business manager noted that enrollment-driven increases in state general-education aid helped the revenue picture and that federal pandemic-era funds had largely wound down.
The board voted to accept the FY24 audit as presented. The transcript records the motion, the auditor’s presentation, and the board’s acceptance; it does not attach additional conditions to the approval in the meeting record.
The audit presentation also previewed an accounting-standard change effective for next fiscal year that will require reporting of compensated-absence liabilities (PTO/sick balances) at the government-wide level. District staff and the auditor said they will present the effect of that change in next year’s reports.
