OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Matt Miller, Silver Creek School Business Manager, was commended at a recent meeting for his work to secure a clean audit report for this past school year.

SILVER CREEK — The Silver Creek Central School District’s finances were in flux throughout last school year, but by the end of the year, everything lined up. The district recently received its 2024-25 audit report from Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, PC, in which a clean, unmodified opinion was issued.

“Hats off to Matt Miller and the business department. Congrats on a clean report. It’s a lot of hard work and diligence, and we appreciate it,” said Board of Education President Matt Bogosian.

The district’s finances have been fluctuating over the past year in preparation for the largest Capital Project in school history, which was approved last December. A representative from Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, PC, stated the capital project is “a main driver” in the financial statements over the past year, and that they found no reason for concern.

Like many districts, Silver Creek surpassed the state limit for unassigned funds of 4% of the upcoming year’s expenditures. Silver Creek maintains roughly 15% of unassigned funds, which has increased from 8.9% in the previous year.

This past spring, voters approved a school tax increase of 1.97% to support a total 2025-2026 school budget amount of $32,177,552. Roughly $2.7 million of reserve funds and more than $750,000 of appropriated funds will be used to balance the budget.

The district has seen an increase to its instructional costs and salaries due to the expiration of federal funding provided in response to the pandemic. The district allocated a portion of its pandemic-related funding to employee salaries, which are now absorbed into the general expenditures now that the grant funding is no longer available.

Related to federal funding moving forward, the district does not believe the government shutdown will have a noticeable impact on its funding unless the shutdown extends significantly. However, the district cannot fully submit its audit report until the government re-opens.

The district’s Capital Project proposal was recently approved by the state, four months ahead of schedule. As a result, the district is working with its architects to reevaluate the timeline for its upgrades to proceed. “That’s very exciting to report,” Superintendent Dr. Katie Ralston said.

Ralston was authorized to approve change orders related to the ongoing Capital Project up to $35,000 prior to Board approval.

In other district news, a policy regarding the use of internet-enabled devices during the school day was officially adopted, along with a series of other district policies. A policy regarding the use of surveillance cameras in the district and on school buses was introduced for its first reading, as well as a series of other policies.

A series of donations were accepted by the district, including $250 to the physical education department as a result of Trisha Sills’ participation in the Independent Healthy Fitness for Kids Challenge; a $368.96 donation from the Class of 2001 to benefit students in need; and a donation of school supplies from Dollar General collected for students in need.

Five separate conference requests were also approved by the Board at its recent meeting, as well as a field trip for a middle school class trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. A trial period for a Middle School Spirit Club was also approved, as well as a shared athletic agreement with the Lake Shore Central School District for Boys and Girls Lacrosse programs hosted at Lake Shore.

The next meeting of the Silver Creek Board of Education is Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.