Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Audit topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auditors give Toms River Schools an unmodified opinion; food-service cash rule flagged
Summary
External auditors reported an unmodified opinion for the Toms River Regional School District’s financial statements but highlighted a recurring regulatory item tied to excess net cash resources in the food-service fund; auditors and staff also described a $17.2 million drop in state aid and use of more than $20 million in fund balance to stabilize the budget.
External auditors told the Board of Education that they will file the district’s annual comprehensive fiscal report with the state after completing a few remaining punch-list items and that they issued an unmodified opinion on the financial statements.
“My team is happy to report that we are all ready to file with the state of New Jersey,” said Jerry Conedy, partner in charge of the engagement. Conedy said the firm found no internal-control findings on financial reporting and compliance. He described one recurring regulatory item in the auditors’ management report affecting the food-service fund.
Conedy said the Department of Agriculture limits net cash resources for school food-service funds to a maximum of three months’ expenditures; the auditors found the district exceeded that limit because of large federal COVID-era inflows. “Corrective action’s already been implemented and is working on it,” Conedy said, adding the district has been gradually using those funds for cafeteria equipment upgrades and lowering meal prices.
Staff financial summaries provided additional context on budget drivers. Chris Bodecker, who reviewed year-over-year tables, said miscellaneous revenue rose by about $4.5 million primarily because of a one-time property sale of $4,162,000 and higher interest income (about $1,760,000). Excluding those one-time items, miscellaneous revenues fell roughly $437,000.
Bodecker and Conedy said local property taxes have risen to help offset cuts in state funding: the tax levy increased by about $7.6 million while the district experienced a roughly $17.2 million decrease in state aid, which included a significant reduction in stabilization aid. The district ended the year with about $50.9 million in fund balance, a decrease of roughly $7.5 million year over year; staff said the FY2024–25 budget used about $12.6 million from reserves and about $9.4 million of unreserved funds—more than $20 million in total—to balance the budget.
On enterprise funds, staff reported the food-service fund’s net income was down about $1.4 million, mainly due to custodial salaries reallocated between funds and contractual raises. The auditors noted Barnabas sponsorship revenues rose while the corporate center fund was hit by a large tenant (Allied Dental) leaving during the year.
Board members asked clarifying questions about specific line items on the purchasing agenda, including a roughly $10,000 waste-hauling charge; staff said they would provide further detail as requested.
