Schools

Auditor Gives Holmdel School District High Marks

Lean, but talented staff is praised in annual review.

An independent auditor gave the Holmdel School District high marks in a recent survey of finances, compliance and performance for fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.

The report was prepared by Licensed Public School Accountant Robert W. Allison, a representative of Hutchins Farrell Meyer & Allison of Freehold on Nov. 9. It was posted on the district website following a presentation at the Dec. 14 meeting.

The best recommendation the auditor had for Holmdel School district was to max-out its maintenance reserve fund, which he said is key to earning preferable bond ratings. A decade ago school districts could keep six percent of the budget in reserve, Allison said, but now they are mandated not to exceed two percent. A healthy reserve allows a district to weather building maintenance, capital projects, and fluctuating special education costs. "It's best to take care of your own house as quickly and as soon as you can."

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On Jan. 23, Assistant Business Administrator Peter Mikos said the district took the auditor's advice. There was $19,604 remaining in its maintenance reserve fund. In response to the recommendation, the district transferred $776,045 into the reserve account, bringing the total to $795,649, said

Mikos said that a five-year old program to increase energy efficiencies and avoid costs has been used to fund various maintenance and repair projects. Over $2.5 million has been conserved, which was used to pay for the following projects:

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Indian Hill Chiller Modifications  $125,000 HHS Parking Lot Repairs
$53,000 Village School Incline Lift $41,000 Village School Exterior Facing Repair $302,000 High School/Roggy Field Pavement Repairs $181,000 WR Satz Middle School Exterior Door Replacements $111,000 Village School Exterior Brickface Repairs $254,000 High School/WR Satz Paving Repairs $246,000 Tennis Court Repairs @ High School $53,000 Village School Roofing Repairs $784,000 Roggy Field Press Box (Est.) $27,000 Indian Hill Outdoor Air Provisions (Est.)
$342,000 TOTAL $2,519,000

 

Board member Mike Sockol credited Business Administrator Michael Petrizzo, Superintendent Barbara Duncan, and their teams for laying the groundwork behind the scenes to insure "a stable, strong school district that can meet the needs of our children and the community. They should be very much complimented. If we were giving ourselves grades, this is the 'A' grade that our finance team gets."

Allison also complimented the school district on its lean team. "This is a $52 million business. If you were to look at a $52 million business along Route 35 somewhere, and expect to see what they had in administration, back office and accounting, you would expect a lot. And you don't have a very thick staff as far as any number of people, but you're a very talented staff."


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