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For the second consecutive year, the Bellmawr School District has no corrective actions, as per the findings in the annual audit performed by Bowman & Company.
At the November 16 monthly Board of Education (BOE) meeting, Board President, Jody Mangus, said: “This is two years in a row where our audits were clean, so much so that the district’s bill [for the audit] will be lower because there wasn’t much to do. There have been no corrective action plans for two years, which is a huge tribute to the business office, [Amy Capriotti, Eileen McMahon, and Jane Siedzikowski].”
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Business Administrator/Board Secretary, Amy Capriotti said: “The audit was clean. There were no fraud issues or problems. It is a group effort by everyone. We had no recommendations, just like last year, which is a great win for us.”
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
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Summary of Audit Report
Capriotti also explained that the district was holding back on spending until the audit was completed. The district has approximately $320,000 earmarked to transfer from capital reserve for emergent projects, she said. Those emergent projects include the boilers and rooftop units at E.M. Burke and Bellmawr Park.
The electrical system at E.M. Burke is old and is “beyond what can be done to fix it” and needs to be redone, Capriotti said.
Superintendent, Annette Castiglione, added that E.M. Burke is hard to heat and cool. It is also an archaic building with small rooms, she said.
She hopes that the district will qualify for a solar energy grant so that new boilers, rooftop units, and and lighting can be installed at 30% of the cost.
Capriotti said that she is waiting for approval from the county superintendent’s office before moving forward on various projects.
Special Meeting Monday, November 21
Subsequent to last week’s meeting, the BOE scheduled a Special Meeting for Monday, November 21 at 4:00 p.m. The purpose is to approve a Resolution that will allow the withdrawal of funds from the capital reserve account. Additionally, the BOE will discuss and act upon any miscellaneous items of business brought before them. Formal action is expected.
In other matters, Board member, Chris Concannon, spoke about the availability of grants that the district can apply for because of its participation in Sustainable New Jersey for Schools.
Concannon also attended a recent meeting regarding potential projects for the Early Childhood Center.
The funding would come come from remaining Pre-School Expansion Grant funds, he said. The proposed projects include a covered walkway and landscaping package for the Early Childhood Center as well as a change in the layout in the office space of the main building.
Sue DiPrinzio Honored as a 2016 New Jersey Exemplary Educator
During the meeting, the BOE recognized teacher, Sue DiPrinzio, as a 2016 New Jersey Exemplary Educator.
Seventh Grade Students Present Helping the Homeless Project
Seventh grade Bell Oaks students, Nesenur Ozturk, Maddie Groves, and Jennifer Macao-Cedilla spoke about the group they created called “Helping the Homeless.” The students organized and asked community members to donate clothing that would help the Joseph House. Three large boxes of items were collected.
On the business side, the BOE voted to approve all items on its agenda. Approved items included:
- The bill list in the amount of grand total of $1,946,340.01.
- A participation agreement for Cooperative Purchasing of Telecommunications Service through the Alliance for Competitive Telecommunications (ACT).
- Disposal of various surplus equipment to be sold “as is” through GovDeals.com.
The BOE’s next regularly scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, December 21. The workshop starts at 5:00 p.m. and the regular meeting follows at 6:00 p.m.