WILLMAR - Willmar Public Schools continues to maintain a relatively healthy general fund balance, according to the fiscal year 2015 audit report.
However, the balance shrank about $1 million in the past year.
The Willmar School Board heard a report on its annual audit at a special meeting Monday.
Paul Harvego of Conway, Deuth and Schmiesing in Willmar, said that the district has a stable financial position. Some new accounting requirements can obscure that in the latest audit, he said, because they require the district to include all future pension obligations.
When the pension is excluded, the district’s current net position is nearly identical to a year ago, Harvego said.
The undesignated general fund balance ended the year at $6.3 million, 12.5 percent of general fund expenditures, down 4 percent from last year. The fund balance is used to maintain cash flow between state aid and property tax payments.
The general fund is used to pay for day-to-day operating expenses of the district. The balance is available to maintain cash flow between state aid and local property tax payments and to pay emergency expenses.
Revenue for fiscal year 2015, which ended June 30, was $48 million in the general fund, $3.1 million in the food service fund and $3.1 million in the community service fund.
Expenditures were $50.1 million in the general fund, $3 million in the food service fund and $3.2 million in the community service fund.
Four-fifths of the district’s revenue came from the state of Minnesota, he said. Local taxes and federal funds made up most of the rest. Nearly 80 percent of the district’s expenses were in salaries and benefits.
Revenue and expenses in the building construction and debt service fund will be significantly different in the fiscal year 2016 audit.
The district sold bonds for a $52.35 million building and remodeling project after the new fiscal year began July 1.
Planning is underway on several projects, and the first construction of the wide-ranging two-year project is expected to begin by the end of the calendar year.
Harvego said the auditors found no major concerns in the district’s financial records. “You’re looking at a really good report,” he said.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge the hard work of (Business and Finance Director) Pam (Harrington) and her staff,” said Superintendent Jeff Holm. “This doesn’t happen everywhere, and it doesn’t happen by accident.”
