WILLMAR - The Willmar Public Schools’ unassigned general fund balance increased during the 2013-14 fiscal year, but that may not be the case this year.
The Willmar School Board received the audit report Monday afternoon and approved a two-year contract with the Education Minnesota-Willmar education union.
Paul Harvego of the Conway, Deuth and Schmiesing accounting firm in Willmar said the audit found that the district adhered to standard accounting practices and noted no issues with the financial statements.
A number of factors contributed to the increased fund balance. The general fund, which pays for day-to-day operations, received $985,000 more than expenditures. Total expenditures in the general fund were $47.6 million. Contributing to the increase in revenues were health insurance premium rebates, increased integration funding and federal grants.
The fund balance at the end of the fiscal year was 16.25 percent of expenditures. The board’s goal is to maintain a balance of at least 6 percent.
Board Chairman Mike Carlson asked about other districts’ general fund balance.
“I see it all across the board,” Harvego said. “There are so many different factors.” Many districts have balances of 10 percent to 15 percent, some higher, he said.
The district’s cash situation improved by about $2 million when the state paid back money that had been borrowed from the state’s schools.
The payments also reduced the district’s accounts receivable.
The state had “borrowed” the money to improve its own cash flow position by delaying aid payments to schools from one year into the following fiscal year. Schools received their funding eventually, but many of them experienced cash flow problems because of the delay.
Harvego said the district’s cash flow is much healthier now. Districts need to maintain cash flow between state aid and local property tax payments, which come in large installments a few times during the year.
Some things could affect the fund balance going forward, including the need to provide back pay to the district’s approximately 350 teachers. The 2013-15 contract approved Monday includes a 3 percent raise in the 2013-14 school year which will now have to be paid.
According to Harvego’s report, salaries and benefits made up 76 percent of the district’s total expenditures last year; purchased services,
15.9 percent; supplies and materials, 4.2 percent; capital expenses, 3.4 percent; and debt and other expenses, 0.5 percent.
The district is debt free after making the last payment on Willmar Senior High last year. That has contributed to a reduction in local school property taxes.
Harvego also provided a report comparing Willmar’s spending with statewide averages and other schools with similar enrollment. The comparisons were for the 2012-13 year, with Willmar’s 2013-14 expenses included, too.
Willmar’s administration expense for 2013-14 was $747 per pupil, while similar schools had an average of $769 and the state average was $849. However, in 2013-14 Willmar’s costs increased to $938 per pupil.
Harvego said the state’s method of coding expenses changed, moving some technology expenses into the administration area. Board member Mike Carlson suggested some of the increase would also be due to a federal School Improvement Grant which required the hiring of additional administrators at Kennedy Elementary.
Per-pupil costs for regular instruction indicated that Willmar’s spending of $4,729 per pupil was above the average for similar schools but very close to the state average of $4,697. Willmar’s 2013-14 costs increased to $5,141 per pupil.
Special education costs vary greatly from district to district, and it’s difficult to predict how they might change from one year to the next, Harvego said. Willmar’s 2013-14 costs were $1,898 per pupil, more than $1,000 more than for similar schools but slightly less than the state average of $1,909. In 2013-14, Willmar’s costs increased to $1,990 per pupil.
Operations and maintenance costs are also difficult to predict, Harvego said, and they vary greatly between districts depending on the age and condition of their buildings.
Willmar’s costs were $851 per pupil in 2012-13, right at the state average of $850. In 2013-14, the Willmar costs increased to $939 per pupil.
