Minutia Matters- Especially Audits

Why is the BHPSNJ Audit Still Not Available?

A recent article on how the Berkeley Heights Superintendent got a raise, in a procedurally incorrect manner and which obscured the action, violating District and State policy along the way, created some much-needed conversation around how the Board of Education operates. I had started looking into audits, based on a different comment and article, and what I’m discovering is that a similar situation may be taking place in our district right now.

Audits are not interesting, really. It’s not something sexy or something that would make someone think, “Oh, I need to read this.” I had initially decided it wasn’t worth writing an article because much of the process and how audits may (or may not) be used is technical and boring even if they are important. However, given the way the Central Office has acted in the past and the way it is continuing, even with a new Business Administrator, this magnifying-glass approach to the BOE is needed.

Going back to the New Jersey School Board Association, they have the following to say:

N.J.S.A. 18A:23-1 et seq. is the state law on school audits and auditors. A properly licensed auditor must be employed by the school board to conduct the required annual audit for a fee established by the board. The audit shall be completed within five months (prior to 2010, the limit was four months) after the end of the school fiscal year. […] Within 30 days of receiving the audit report, the board of education must discuss the recommendations of the audit at a regularly scheduled public meeting (N.J.A.C. 18A:23-5). The discussion will be noted in the minutes of the meeting. The board will direct the implementation of the auditor’s recommendations.

According to this timeline, our BOE should have received the audit by November 30/December 1st, and they should have discussed the recommendations within the month of December. As far as I can tell, this has not been brought up at a board meeting yet. The State DOE also requires the audit to be filed with the Commissioner within five days of presentation to the BOE. Our district has not submitted an audit to the state.

There was pending legislation which sought to extend this timeline, but the Governor had vetoed the bill on January 8th stating:

While I commend the sponsors’ intent to provide a longer runway for the submission of school district audits, I am concerned that a permanent extension for the audits will undermine the school district budget process.

School district annual audits not only ensure that funds are received and disbursed properly, but also help shape school district budgets.  Data generated by these audits are essential to creating responsible budgets, and any delays in data that flow from the audits has the potential to negatively impact the budget process.

Additionally, the audits generate key data necessary for the calculation and release of certified tuition rates and the Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending, both of which districts rely on to create their budgets. 

As of December 2023, this legislation was not passed, and should have no bearing on our district having followed current rules. Somehow, surrounding districts (New Providence, Summit, Westfield and others) managed to submit their audits on time. Why is ours missing? This is of even greater importance when you consider the “fiscal cliff”.  We were promised a better budget process, yet the BOE calendar for the upcoming year doesn’t contain any extra meetings for public input on the budget. 

We haven’t seen the audit. 

We don’t even know whether the Board has seen the audit. 

We have the largest administrative ‘team’ we’ve ever had, yet important matters are brushed off like they are flies on a picnic table or tucked far away from public view like a shameful habit. 

We need to start doing better. 

We can do better by putting a new BOE President in place.

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