Hammonton board receives clean audit; auditors detail $18.1 million in fund balance

Auditors told the Hammonton Board of Education on Feb. 13 that they issued an unmodified opinion on the district’s financial statements and found no material misstatements or internal-control deficiencies.

“We have an unmodified opinion,” the auditor said during the public meeting, describing that as the cleanest opinion the firm can render. The auditors also reported no control deficiencies in their review of internal control over financial reporting and no compliance issues in the major federal and state programs tested.

The auditor provided a breakdown of the district’s fund balance. The district’s total fund balance stood at about $18,100,000. Of that, roughly $2,600,000 was in the maintenance reserve; the capital reserve totaled about $7,250,000, from which approximately $163,000 was used in the 2024–25 budget and another roughly $103,000 was used to offset debt-service payments. The auditor said the district’s unemployment reserve was about $530,000, excess surplus about $2,700,000 (scheduled for use in the 2025–26 budget), encumbrances roughly $915,000, and an unassigned balance of about $1,500,000.

The auditor explained that the firm also reviewed federal- and state-funded programs subject to single-audit thresholds and tested the state aid, preschool education aid and the federal child nutrition cluster; no reportable compliance issues were identified. “There were no comments or findings,” the auditor said and thanked district business-office staff for their cooperation.

The board did not take any formal action tied to the audit at the meeting. The auditor invited board members or staff to follow up with questions after the meeting.

The board’s next budget steps will come as the district and state release updated state-aid information; the superintendent told the board they will begin budget work over the next 45 to 60 days.