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Saddle River auditor gives district an unmodified opinion, cites healthy reserves and two corrective recommendations
Summary
Auditor Robert Lurch told the Saddle River Board of Education the district received an unmodified opinion for the 2024-25 year, the fund balance rose about $375,000 to roughly $5.8 million, and two corrective-action items were recommended for encumbrances and bank reconciliations.
Robert Lurch, an auditor with Lurch Vincy and Bliss, told the Saddle River Board of Education that the districts annual comprehensive financial report for the year ended June 30, 2025, received an unmodified opinion.
"An unmodified opinion is the highest opinion that we can give," Lurch said, adding the districts financial statements were "free of material misstatements and no indications of fraud." He told the board the districts fund balance increased about $375,000, to approximately $5.8 million.
Lurch walked the board through several restricted reserves required by state statute, saying the capital reserve stands at about $2.9 million (approximately $450,000 of which was used in the current year), a maintenance reserve of roughly $128,000 (with about $75,000 used this year), and a tuition reserve of $200,000. Year-end encumbrances totaled about $279,000.
He also described the districts undesignated fund balance and excess surplus calculations and said the excess surplus going into the 2026-27 budget is about $1.3 million. Lurch characterized the district as being "in a very good financial spot" with healthy reserves to support future budgeting.
The auditor identified two items requiring corrective action: materially invalid year-end encumbrances that should be reviewed and canceled if not valid, and material reconciling items on bank reconciliations that needed clearing; Lurch said those issues have been corrected going forward.
Board members asked follow-up questions and the audit presentation concluded with the board accepting the report for review and possible action in subsequent budget discussions.
What happens next: The audit and its recommendations will inform the finance committee and the districts upcoming budget discussions for the 2026-27 school year.
