Audit shows DeKalb Schools managing finances well

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DeKALB – An audit of finances for the DeKalb School District found that the district is managing its money well, the auditors who did the review told the school board Tuesday evening.

The district received a 3.55 rating from the state for its financial status, said Matthew Schueler, a certified public accountant with Lindgren, Callihan, Van Osdol & Co. Ltd, the firm that did the audit.

“That’s a good number. It’s the highest recognition in the state for school districts,” he said.

“It’s a report card from the state to each individual school district on how well they are performing financially,” said Andrea Gorla, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and finance, said of the rating. The district has had a high rating from the state for the past several years, she added.

School districts are annually required by the state to have an audit done by an independent firm, Gorla said. The district pays between $35,000-$40,000 a year for Lindgren, Callihan, Van Osdol & Co. Ltd. to do its audit, she said. Schueler said his firm has done the audit for DeKalb Schools for at least the last decade.

Gorla said the rating is based on several factors, including fund balance and available cash on hand. The district annual has had money in its funds at the end of the fiscal year, which is always June 30.
 
The positive fund balances mean the district does not have to do short-term borrowing, which is what district who don't have money on hand to meet bills often have to do, Gorla said. Another area that helps is having a balanced budget, Gorla said, something the board has pushed for annually. It's not a hard call to make, School Board President Mike Verbic said, noting "you can't spend what you don't have."

"It's great news," he added. "Mrs. Gorla has been the primary reason our last four audits have been in this terrific condition."

The rating helps the district in other ways, Gorla said, such as helping the district get a lower interest rate when purchasing bonds. That in turns saves taxpayers money because they pay less interest for the money borrowed.

The audit showed that the $63 million budget for 2009 consists of $43.09 million in property taxes, $6.36 million in federal sources and $14.19 million in state sources.

One area the district was marked down in was because it does not do the footnotes for its audit, Gorla said. Even though the audit has to be done by an independent firm, districts can do their own footnotes for the audit, she said, but most hire someone to do that for them.

"You have to have someone on staff to write all the footnotes and understand it," Schueler said. "It's tough to keep up with all the changes. It’s not a black eye for the district by any means."

The board approved the audit 4-0 during a Tuesday night board meeting. Board Vice President Michael Lord, as well as board members Fred Davis and Tia Robinson, were absent.

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