By John Tredrea, Special Writer
The Hopewell Valley School District’s handling of its money during the 2012-2013 fiscal year has been given rave reviews by the district’s auditor, who summarized his findings at Monday night’s school board meeting.
”You had a really good year. Your district is very healthy financially. You do a very good job of maintaining books and records and supervising your staff,” said auditor Michael Andriola of the Livingston-based firm of Wiss & Company.
Under state law, every school district in New Jersey must be audited annually by an independent firm. Also under state law, the audit is a public document. Copies of the book-length 2012-2013 audit of the Hopewell Valley district are available at the district’s administrative headquarters, at 425 South Main Street in Pennington. The audit also can be seen online at the district’s website.
Mr. Andriola said the Hopewell Valley audit resulted in the district receiving an “unmodified” rating by Wiss & Company. “That’s the highest kind of opinion you can receive” from an auditor, he said.
Noting that the district “has no material weaknesses in internal controls,” he said the district ended the 2012-2013 with a balance of $5.7 million. In New Jersey, the fiscal year of school districts runs from July 1 to June 30.
He added that Hopewell Valley was one of only 23 New Jersey school districts to receive a Certificate of Excellence from the Association of School Business Officers. That award went to the Valley’s business administrator, Robert Colavita.
There are more than 500 school districts in New Jersey.
”Not all districts run this smoothly,” Mr. Andriola concluded. “Yours does a really great job.”
