Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Audit Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marboro County schools receive clean 2025 audit; officials warn fund balance will need attention
Summary
Auditors reported an unmodified opinion on the district's 2025 financial statements and no material weaknesses; the board was told the general fund ended the year with about $4.9 million while retirement payments and budget gaps will be addressed when local tax receipts arrive.
Brian Nicholson of auditing firm Ming Jenkins told the Marboro County Board of Education on Jan. 12 that the district's fiscal 2025 financial statements received an unmodified ("clean") opinion and that the auditors found no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control.
Nicholson said the firm also issued a clean single-audit for the district's federal programs, naming the child nutrition cluster and ESSER as the district's major programs. "We issued a clean or an unmodified opinion over the basic financial statements," Nicholson said during his presentation.
The audit presentation included fund-balance details: the district reported an ending general fund balance of roughly $4.9 million and an unassigned fund balance near 10.1%, above the state minimum of 8.33% but short of staff's longer-term target. District staff told the board they expect local ad valorem tax receipts within the coming weeks, which will be used to bring retirement (PEBA) payments and other obligations current.
Board members used the audit discussion to clarify scope. Nicholson and his team explained the engagement was a risk-based financial and compliance audit, not a transaction-level forensic audit. "We look at what we consider material items," the auditor said when a board member contrasted the district's financial-compliance audit with a forensic review.
Finance staff summarized operational steps to reduce this year's projected budget gap, including conservative hiring and other cost controls. They said the district has delayed replacing some positions and expects savings in the range of several hundred thousand dollars so far; precise totals will be shared with the board after further reconciliation.
Why this matters: a clean audit reduces immediate compliance risk and signals improvement from the prior year, when auditors reported multiple weaknesses. At the same time, board members pressed staff for clear plans to restore a stronger fund balance and to ensure retirement contributions are current once the district receives its local tax allocation.
Votes at a glance: during the meeting the board approved routine personnel recommendations (one certified hire; three certified resignations) and other agenda items tied to the district's operating plan.
The board did not take a separate vote linked to the audit presentation itself; staff said they will report back with updated revenue sheets and a plan for addressing outstanding retirement payments in the next 30 days or as tax receipts are posted.
