Audit report shows Canon-Mac is in the black
For the first time in 11 years, the Canon-McMillan School District spent less than it budgeted, according to auditor Steve Cypher.
Canon-McMillan budgeted $54,606,075 for the 2008-09 school year and spent $54,246,165, according to the Cypher and Cypher report.
Cypher presented the audit for the school year ending June 30, 2009, to the school board Monday night.
“There was a routine pattern of budgeting a lot less than we were going to spend,” Cypher said.
Five years ago, the board realized that and began to make changes, some of them painful, he said.
Decisions in the past year have also been critical, he said. They include hiring a financial adviser to help with the swap agreements, getting rid of two swap agreements and not spending money the district received for those agreements.
The law requires that school districts be audited annually as a check on how money is spent. Cypher said his opinion of the Canon-McMillan audit is unqualified, which is exactly what the district wants. Anything else would be financial catastrophe, he said.
Because the district received more than $500,000 from the federal government, Cypher has to audit internal controls and compliance with the law. He said there were no instances of non-compliance and that the internal controls are fine.
In the short term, the district’s fund balance, or savings, is fine, he said. However, in the long term it’s projected to be a negative $2.2 million, Cypher said.
“This will weigh heavily on your ability to borrow,” he said, adding that it will mean a higher interest rate.
This audit came several months after the state auditor general completed an audit of the district and determined Canon-McMillan had deficit fund balances for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 school years.
The office recommended that the district monitor expenses more closely, use monthly budget status reports to scrutinize expenses and provide for a systemic reduction of the deficit.
Department heads have been told that deficit spending is not permitted and that any item not budgeted must be approved by the school board.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/behinddesk/.
Canon-McMillan budgeted $54,606,075 for the 2008-09 school year and spent $54,246,165, according to the Cypher and Cypher report.
Cypher presented the audit for the school year ending June 30, 2009, to the school board Monday night.
“There was a routine pattern of budgeting a lot less than we were going to spend,” Cypher said.
Five years ago, the board realized that and began to make changes, some of them painful, he said.
Decisions in the past year have also been critical, he said. They include hiring a financial adviser to help with the swap agreements, getting rid of two swap agreements and not spending money the district received for those agreements.
The law requires that school districts be audited annually as a check on how money is spent. Cypher said his opinion of the Canon-McMillan audit is unqualified, which is exactly what the district wants. Anything else would be financial catastrophe, he said.
Because the district received more than $500,000 from the federal government, Cypher has to audit internal controls and compliance with the law. He said there were no instances of non-compliance and that the internal controls are fine.
In the short term, the district’s fund balance, or savings, is fine, he said. However, in the long term it’s projected to be a negative $2.2 million, Cypher said.
“This will weigh heavily on your ability to borrow,” he said, adding that it will mean a higher interest rate.
This audit came several months after the state auditor general completed an audit of the district and determined Canon-McMillan had deficit fund balances for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 school years.
The office recommended that the district monitor expenses more closely, use monthly budget status reports to scrutinize expenses and provide for a systemic reduction of the deficit.
Department heads have been told that deficit spending is not permitted and that any item not budgeted must be approved by the school board.
Join the Observer-Reporter’s conversation about education at our blog at http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/behinddesk/.
Labels: Canon-Mac audit
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