Mesquite ISD board approves FY2023–24 independent audit; auditors issue unmodified opinion

The Mesquite Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Nov. 11 to approve the FY2023–24 independent audit following a presentation from the district's audit partner.

Selena Serres Perez, public sector partner for the audit firm, told the board that auditors issued unmodified opinions on both the district's financial statements and its major federal programs. "We do have to issue an opinion over these federal programs and we are issuing an unmodified opinion," she said, noting that child nutrition expenditures and revenues totaled $28,000,000 and ESSER and related federal tranches totaled $26,000,000, for $86,000,000 in federal funds overall. Perez said auditors found no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses and made two recommendations that do not rise to the level of reportable findings in the single audit.

Perez walked trustees through budget‑to‑actual results, where the district exceeded its $429,000,000 total budget by about $2,000,000 (roughly 1%). She said the district's assigned and unassigned fund balance equals about 30% of expenditures (about 100 days), exceeding the metric TEA recommends. After trustees asked questions, a motion to approve the audit was made and the board approved it by voice vote.

Board President Seward praised the finance team and noted the close budget performance. The board did not receive any formal audit exceptions that required regulatory reporting; administration noted the two minor recommendations will be addressed in management responses and follow‑up work.

The board briefly recessed after the vote and then continued with the remaining agenda items.