The Metuchen school board received a favorable report from its auditor regarding its fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, at the Board of Education’s Nov. 24 meeting.
The report found “no discrepancies or exceptions” in the board’s accounting, reporting and financial records charting its $35 million in total revenues, according to a summary prepared by Walter Brasch of the accounting firm ParenteBeard LLC. It also noted “no instances of noncompliance and/or questionable costs” in complying with federal education regulations.
“There were no significant deficiencies,” Brasch told the board. “In general, I think you’ve managed your revenues and your expenditures quite well. You did under-spend your budget by about 2 percent.
“You’ve also taken advantage of where you’ve been allowed to put money into reserves… and that’s a good business decision I think you’ve made.”
They did finish the year with a small surplus, which Brasch said would help as they look forward to a very tight budget future. Future budgets will have to contend with decreasing state funds and increasing pension costs, he said. The district’s pension contributions have risen 40 percent in two years, and two state aid payments in June were withheld, he said.
“Overall you’re going to have some real budget challenges,” Brasch said. He later added, “But you’re staying the course, and I think you’ve done a good job of trying to managewithin your budget. I will also compliment the board for not deferring your pension payment, which you were allowed to do, which some districts did. It’s a bad trend of borrowing, and borrowing into the future. Somewhere it’s got to stop.”
District Superintendent Teri Sinatra said she was “very proud” that no inconsistencies were found by the auditors.
This is the second year that Brasch has served as the primary auditor from Parente- Beard, and he served as one of the district’s auditors with a previous firm several years ago.
The audit also found that the board complied with acceptable accounting practices in awarding contractual services. The report also noted the “complete cooperation of all the officials of the school district, and we greatly appreciate the courtesies extended to the members of the audit team.”
The audit focuses on whether the board’s finances and accounting are managed and recorded properly, not on how the board operates and spends its money, Brasch said, who added that he was unable to recommend any cost-cutting or efficiency measures to the board.