To enhance its commitment to keeping its constituents well-informed, the Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education is providing summaries of its bi-weekly board meetings. Here are the notes from its Sept. 25 meeting.
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Presentations
• External Audit — The firm Drescher & Malecki presented the findings of the 2024/25 Niagara Falls City School District external audit. The firm reported that revenue has been higher than expenses for the fifth consecutive year. The general fund increase for the 2024/25 school year was $4.2 million. The district’s total general fund balance grew from $52.7 million in 2023/24 to $56.9 million in 2024/25.
The School Lunch Fund has been stable (revenue to expenditures) over the last three years. In 2024/25, the district made some capital purchases to improve the dining experience for students.
Drescher & Malecki concluded that the district had a clean audit on its financial statements. In fact, according to the lead auditor, this is “the best you can do from an audit standpoint.” Additionally, there were no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies.
The external audit was to be submitted to the New York State Education Department on Monday.
• Internal Audit — For the internal audit findings, NFCSD Superintendent Mark Laurrie and NFCSD Budget Manager Julie Jacklin stated that the district will be working with a new firm, Tronconi, Segarra and Associates, for internal auditing services. Specifically, the 2025/2026 internal audit will focus on:
• Food service/child nutrition
• Payroll
• Financial reports. These include the revenue status report, appropriations status report, and treasurer’s report.
In addition, these areas are also prone to being audited:
• Information Technology — the district will continue its own “phishing-type” exercises to check staff awareness and recognition of these issues.
• Lead testing
After reviewing the August 2025 internal claims audit, the NFCSD Audit Committee found that, given $10,035,878 was spent, there were no confirmatories or findings.
Recommended actions from the superintendent of schools
The board approved 18 short-term contracts, including contracts with:
• Mercy Flight Ambulatory Services at football games
• Father and Son Center Mentoring Program for NFHS
• Perry Ground Native American Storytelling
• Curriculum Associates Professional Learning: training for Ready Reading and Phonics Reading Intervention Programs
• Elizabeth Bell Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) — This screening measure categorizes students based on reading abilities. It indicates any need for further instruction.
• One Trusted Adult Training — For teacher assistants and associates
New Business
The board of education approved 16 items of new business, including the following:
• The 2024-2025 Annual Independent Audit and filing the audit with the Commissioner of Education
• An agreement with Bind Cyber Security Insurance with Great American Spirit Insurance Company through Wright Risk Management and New York State Insurance Reciprocal for cybersecurity insurance
• Approval of Contract for Professional Consulting Services Between the City School District of the City of Niagara Falls and HOGHOL (formerly FBites) for the Fall Semester
Superintendent’s Report
• A reception for the parents of English as a New Language students will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday at G.J. Mann
• The first Saturday Academy on October 4 was highly successful, attracting 200 participants.
• Congratulations to Bloneva Bond Primary kindergarten teacher Silvana Bonura for applying for and receiving $12,000 worth of school supplies
The next Niagara Falls City School District Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the district Central Office.