by Kate Evans
Michael Misiti, CPA, CFE and partner from the Fyffe Jones Group, AC, gave a presentation on their company’s Fiscal Year 2024 audit report of the Morgan County Board of Education at the March 4 Morgan County School Board meeting.
Misiti said the timeline of their audit was formally initiated with a December 26 letter to the school board. Initial procedures and testing were done in January, 2025 and their report was issued on February 10.
Good audit results
Misiti said that the audit results on the 2024 Financial Statements were an “unmodified” (clean) opinion with no issues.
The Internal Control Report in Accordance with Government Auditing Standards had no deficiencies or weaknesses noted, Misiti said.
The Report on Compliance for Federal Programs (a single audit) was given an unmodified (clean) opinion, he said.
Child Nutrition was chosen as the federal program to test. No findings were found for this program during 2024.
Other highlights
The audit noted that the Morgan County School Board had a significant increase in total net position due to revenue exceeding expenses by $3.6 million, primarily due to increases in current assets and capital assets.
The board’s governmental funds had a combined ending balance of $14.8 million, an increase of $2.1 million from the prior year. Around $6.8 million is available for spending at the school board’s discretion. The board had significant increase in fund balance due to additional grant revenue and stimulus/recovery funds.
At the end of the current fiscal year, unassigned fund balance for the general fund was approximately $7.0 million or 26 percent of total general fund expenditures.
Assets
Major school capital asset events during the current fiscal year included the purchase of two intercom systems, welding equipment, a mechanics workstation, playground equipment, a tabletop mixer, a water heater, Chromebooks, a sound system, purchase of four school buses, two transit vans and the retirement of four school buses and two vehicles.
The increase in the board’s investment in capital assets for the current fiscal year was 1.5% and includes land, buildings and improvements, furniture and equipment, and vehicles.
School board president Aaron Close said he thought they were spending COVID money wisely.
Board member John Rowland was glad to see the balances they had and the potential they brought. The tariffs going up will impact purchasing instructional supplies, he noted.
School Superintendent David Banks said not having any audit findings is due to Treasurer Ann Bell’s knowledge and attention to detail — ”she teaches us a lot.”
Bell stressed that “we’re a team, we work together. It’s a great place to work,” of her staff and colleagues.
High school vaping
School Superintendent David Banks followed up on a parent’s concerns about students vaping at Berkeley Springs High School and bathrooms being locked down. Banks said that last year 150 vape sensors were going off in bathrooms. This year it was only 20.
Repeat offenders were found through e-hall passes. Some students had been switched to alternative education. Banks felt that kids were getting the message.
A few bathrooms had been closed for cleaning due to kids getting sick from the flu, Banks said. The reports are good, but they still have a big problem with kids and vaping in the car, at home and at school.
Policies
The school board conducted a first reading of the following policies at their March 4 meeting: Policy 1662, 3362, and 4362 Anti-Harassment and Violence; 5540 The Schools and Community Agencies; 2411 Guidance and Counseling; Policy 2412 Homebound/Hospital Instruction Program; and 2460 Special Education.
The policies will be posted on the county school website for 30 days for public comment.
Budget/Finance
The board approved Mitch Nida, Brian Raciborski, Jamie Harris, Ben Kase, Beth Golden and David Banks to attend the Instructional Empowerment Building Expertise Conference in Orlando, Florida on June 17-20. The funding source: Conference Fees covered by IE contract; travel expenses-county funds.
Other
Banks said that a Special Education monitoring team and Brim were both visiting Morgan County Schools that week and things were going well.
Board member John Rowland congratulated the Berkeley Springs High School wrestling team on their showing at regionals and wished them luck at states. Board member Chuck Bergen said that all county sports are on the upswing.
