GUILDERLAND — The public school district here has been receiving clean audits for years.
On Oct. 1, Jill M. Theis, a certified public accountant and partner at West & Company, CPA, briefed the Board of Education on an independent audit for the year ending June 30, 2024.
“This is the maximum amount we can receive,” Tice told the board in his unrevised opinion.
Theis noted that the district’s largest liability, about $223 million, is related to post-retirement benefits, and the state does not allow districts to set aside funds for debt.
“Each year, you only budget for the current year’s health insurance bill, but you need to record this liability for all future expenses,” she said.
“This is true in other districts as well,” Tice said.
The audit found the district’s overall net financial position decreased by approximately $4.7 million “primarily due to increases in student transportation costs, taxes and long-term bond costs.”
“Debt proceeds were just over $6.5 million,” Tides said. “Those were tax deed bonds issued that year.”
The City of Guilderland has decided to issue bonds to pay for legally required funds rather than slashing its budget for businesses that successfully challenge assessments set by the town.
Voters in May passed a $125 million budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“Excluding tax-determined bonds, revenues exceed expenses by approximately $600,000,” Tides said.
The report also found that the district’s total assessed value will decrease by approximately $5.8 million, or 0.01 percent, from 2023 to 2024, “representing a slight decrease from the previous year, but with an overall stable tax base and economic stability.” It shows that.”
Theis noted that state law does not allow school districts to hold more than 4% of next year’s budget in unallocated fund balances, or rainy day accounts.
“At the end of the year, you were just 4 percent, so you’re good,” she told the board.
The additional audit was conducted after Guilderland spent more than $750,000 in federal grant money in pandemic funds.
“We found no compliance violations or internal control issues with these two grant programs,” Tice said of the federal programs audited.
She said, “In total, we will have spent just under $6 million in federal grant funding from 2023 to 2024.”
“Those grants ended as of yesterday,” Tides said regarding COVID-19 funding.
The final section of the audit concerns student club classroom activity funds, which totaled just over $273,000.
As before, Guilderland received a “qualified opinion” in response.
“This is the same as last year and it’s the same in all of our districts,” Theis said. “A qualified opinion is obtained in this case as we cannot prove that all funds raised were submitted to the Central Treasurer.”
The board did not comment or ask questions about Tides’ presentation, but Superintendent Marie Wiles praised the school for “conducting a really great audit again this year.”
This was despite high turnover within the office. “It’s a tough job,” Wiles said, “and requires attention to detail.”
She thanked the district’s School Business Administrator John Rizzo, Assistant Superintendent for Business Andrew Van Alstyne, the Board of Supervisors and the Audit Committee.
“It’s not easy to do a completely clean audit,” Wiles concluded.
Smart device ban
Guilderland schools will consider banning electronic devices as part of the 2025-26 budget, and Van Alstyne said the process has already begun.
Wiles told the board on Oct. 1 that the system, which includes a pouch for students to put their devices in, would cost about $110,000.
“By incorporating this into the regular budgeting process, we can ultimately make a decision when the board adopts the budget in April,” Wiles said.
Board members had agreed to consider the ban at an August meeting after Gov. Kathy Hochul launched a statewide listening tour on the issue in Guilderland.
Hochul, who supports a statewide ban, spoke at a convention in Albany in September sponsored by the New York State United Teachers Association, which also supported a ban.
Melinda Parson, NYSUT president and wife of Guilderland Board Vice President, has four children who attend Guilderland schools, and has written a letter to the Guilderland Board advocating for a ban on smartphones in schools. sent.
Two Guilderland board members, former teacher Tara Molloy-Grocki and current teacher Nina Kaplan, attended the Albany meeting and reported to the board Oct. 1.
Molloy-Grocki said she wasn’t sure whether she was in favor of a ban in August, but the meeting “felt like we had crossed a line.”
Kaplan supported the ban in August and advocated for it with the board this month.
“The support is there,” she said, pointing to the position of Hochul and other stakeholders. “The science is there. And I’ve also heard some tragic stories where I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the room at that point.”
When asked about the possibility of a statewide ban on smartphones in schools, Wiles previously told the Enterprise, “As with many other decisions, we will engage with the community, get feedback and input. We hope that by providing this information, a decision will be reached.” Gain insight and foresight and move forward instead of saying, “Okay, I have to do this.” ”
Current plans are to hold a forum, likely online, with a panel that will include representatives from neighboring school districts such as Bethlehem and Schoharie, which have already banned the devices, as well as representatives from the Guilderland Police Department, and We’re going to talk about security. problem. In addition to students, the community and staff will also be surveyed.
While the board in August largely supported the ban, Kimberly Vlasiak expressed concerns about “enforcement and discipline,” and pediatrician Rebecca Butterfield also expressed concerns, especially regarding the mental health crisis. He said that he completely agreed with this. She wanted more feedback from stakeholders about middle school students about high school students.
“Part of our mission is to prepare our students for the future,” Butterfield said. “Cellphones are part of that. They’re going to be using cellphones in their lives…We need to be somewhat open-minded about the stages of adolescent development.”
At the Oct. 1 meeting, board president Blanca González Parker said she was not completely determined on the issue. “I haven’t formed a complete opinion yet,” she said.
Gonzalez-Parker, who works in public health, said she has some questions and concerns about the upperclassmen. “There’s this balance,” she said. “We have cell phones in the real world, but do we need to learn how to use them responsibly?”
Meredith Briere, who was sworn in at the start of the Oct. 1 meeting to fill the vacancy, also asked how exceptions would be made.
She asked why some students were given exceptions over others. “Because I think there’s an issue of equity involved,” she said.
Molloy-Glocki said other school districts have made exceptions for students with medical conditions such as diabetes, which require students to have a doctor’s note and be seen by the school nurse.
“We are working on putting something together for the fall,” Wiles concluded about hosting the informational forum.
