Millstone Township board tables formal approval of 2024 audit after debate over report posting

Auditors presented a clean opinion on the Millstone Township School District’s 2024 financial statements, but the board delayed formal acceptance after members raised procedural concerns about how the audit was circulated.

Brian Waldren, a partner with the district’s audit firm, told the board the independent auditors issued an unmodified opinion on the June 30, 2024 financial statements and related reports, the strongest available. "We have issued an unmodified opinion," he said, summarizing three reports: the independent auditors' report, the report on internal control and compliance, and a single-audit over major federal programs. Waldren highlighted that the district’s operating fund balance stood at about $8.5 million — roughly 21% of an operating budget he described as about $40 million — and noted a $450,000–$500,000 decrease in federal grant activity compared with prior years. He also said certain one-time federal programs (ESSER-type funds) were largely spent by September 2024.

Board discussion moved quickly from those financial highlights to a governance question. Board member Vanessa asked that action item 11 (the audit approval) be tabled until the February meeting so members could review the full, 200+ page audit report. "I was going to see if we could put a motion on the table to table it till the February meeting," she said, and Karina seconded the motion. Dr. McCartney and other members responded that the audit had been posted to the district website and included in materials, prompting members to dispute whether posting timing followed the board’s usual packet process.

After an amendment to remove item 11 from the consent agenda, the board voted to table the audit approval. The transcript records some members saying they had not had time to review the full report; one member said they had read it and opposed tabling. The meeting record does not include a clear, fully specified roll-call tally for the table motion in the transcript excerpts provided; the board did subsequently vote by roll call to approve the remaining consent items (the agenda minus item 11), with at least one member announcing targeted abstentions on certain legal bills and family scholarship finances.

The board was told the audit was filed before the state deadline (Waldren said the audit was filed Jan. 6) and that the firm saw no instances of noncompliance requiring disclosure. The next procedural step is a vote on the audit at the board’s February meeting, when members said they expect to have more time to review the materials.

Ending: The board tabled the formal vote on the audit and will reconsider the audit approval at the February meeting; other consent agenda items were approved that night with the audit removed.