HVRSD Finances Given Top Rating in Annual Audit
Hopewell Valley Regional School District once again has received the highest possible rating for its financial management in its annual audit.
Rodney R. Haines, of Holman & Frenia, P.C., a certified public accounting firm in Medford, N.J., gave the district an “unqualified opinion,” the highest possible rating, on the execution of its $73 million budget that ran from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. The finding is part of an annual independent audit that the state requires for all public school districts.
The unqualified opinion means there were no major problems found in the district’s finances. Mr. Haines presented the audit report to the Board of Education at its regular meeting in November; copies are available to the public at the HVRSD administration office.
“You can be proud of the operation you are running,” Mr. Haines told the board during his November presentation.
The school district had a roughly $1.6 million surplus at the end of the fiscal year. The audit noted that the district has consistently used surpluses for capital projects, rather than issuing bonds, and for tax relief.
One area of concern mentioned in the audit is $1.4 million in construction grants that the state Schools Development Authority owes HVRSD for capital projects, including the Timberlane addition, done between 2002 and 2005.
Mr. Colavita said the money has been delayed due to changing state personnel handling the accounts and additional paperwork requests by the state.
“We are hoping to get the money by the end of the fiscal year, we are actively pursuing it,” said Mr. Colavita. “We are frustrated with the lack of responsiveness by the state, but we will continue to pursue this till we get those funds.”