Audit: North Little Rock posts clean FY25 audit; board told asbestos abatement will delay demolition

Mark Glover of HCJ CPAs told the board the district's fiscal year 2025 audit will be issued with an unmodified (clean) opinion and that auditors found no reportable findings in financial- or federal-program testing. "Overall, you'll see that we had a really good audit, and no findings," Glover said, adding the single-audit testing of federal awards produced no findings and that ESSER funds accounted for a notable decrease in federal revenue compared with the prior year.

Glover reviewed key balances and footnote disclosures: a reported cash balance of roughly $77 million at 06/30/2025 (collateralized above FDIC levels), construction commitments of about $115 million related to three major projects (middle school, Old Main, indoor sports complex), and outstanding debt totals. He also noted that the district issued the first series of construction bonds (~$9.9 million) after year-end as part of the approved program.

On construction, Colonel Stenger (chief of staff/acting superintendent) warned the board that asbestos testing in the old courts and police building found material that will require more extensive abatement than previous projects. He said the district will receive a written estimate next week and that abatement will add cost and time before demolition and associated sports-complex work begin. "It's a carcinogenic. So that's why all that stuff has to be taken out," Stenger said when explaining the safety steps abatement teams will take.

Board members asked about budgeting for the abatement and whether previously planned building-fund savings should be held for those costs rather than used for recurring salary increases. The district said budget lines anticipated older buildings would require significant work and that the administration will bring cost estimates and bidding information as they become available.

Ending: The audit will be finalized and presented as an unmodified opinion at the regular board meeting; an asbestos abatement estimate will be provided next week and the board will consider bid timelines and funding implications.