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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Board and District officials adequately managed the District’s financial condition.

Key Findings

• Unrestricted fund balance at the end of 2016- 17 was $6.2 million or 9.9 percent of the next year’s budget – more than double the statutory limit.
• District officials underestimated Impact Aid revenues by an average of $5.9 million (68 percent) each year from 2014-15 to 2016-17.
• The District’s budgets included appropriated fund balance that was not used as planned to fund operations.

Key Recommendations

• Develop a plan to reduce the amount of unrestricted fund balance to comply with the statutory limit.
• Adopt budgets with realistic revenue estimates and discontinue the practice of appropriating fund balance that will not be used.
• Update long-term plans to include more realistic estimates of Impact Aid.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to take corrective action.