The auditing firm Hungerford Nichols issued a positive financial audit report to Clarkston Board of Education, Nov. 23.
‘For the past several years, the Clarkston Community Schools has maintained a balanced budget and not operated at a deficit,? said Deputy Superintendent Shawn Ryan. ‘In fact, the current audit had a surplus of $759,779. We are one of the few Michigan districts that moved our fund balance in a positive direction.?
Mary Beth Rogers, executive director of Business Services, said the district must continue building fund equity, the district’s savings account, so it does not have to borrow funds.
‘Since 2012, CCS has doubled its fund balance to 7.5 percent and decreased cash flow borrowing by 50 percent,? Ryan said.
Revenue increased by $5.6 million due largely to an increase in operating grants and increased property tax revenue. Total revenue for 2015 is $97,614,621. Total expenditures for 2015 are $89,774,997.
Due to the 2015 reporting requirements of the state pension liability on all districts, the district’s net position, which is the difference between total assets and liabilities, decreased by $100 million, from negative $11,889,923 in 2014 to negative $110,423,820 in 2015.
‘This accounting requirement does not have a direct impact on the district’s finances/operating budget, but is included to illustrate in the audit the relative liability that each school district has against the state’s pension fund,? Ryan said.
The number of students attending the Clarkston Community Schools decreased by roughly 1 percent, about 78 students, this year, Ryan said.
‘Despite this, and the decade long trend of fewer school aged children residing in Michigan as a whole, the Clarkston Community Schools has actually increased its overall enrollment this year, via shared partnerships with area private schools, becoming the seventh largest district in Oakland County,? he said.