VB School Board receives highest-level audit for 2018-19

At its Nov. 11 regular meeting, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education accepted the financial audit of its 2018-19 fiscal year from Laura Payne of Taylor & Morgan CPAs and Business Advisors.
The district received an unmodified audit opinion, which is the highest level of assurance possible for the district’s financial statements.
Because the snowstorm on Monday kept Payne from driving to Belleville from her Flint home, she came to the meeting via cell phone. School Supt. Pete Kudlak held the phone up to the microphone and Finance Director Sara Cortese changed the slides on the screen that coincided with Payne’s words.
First, she congratulated Van Buren Public Schools for the success on their bond proposal, which she called a “win-win for the district” with a zero-rate tax increase and money coming for an early-childhood center.
“We’re quite pleased, too,” said School Supt. Kudlak.
Payne spoke of the changes in the business office and, despite the changes, there was a clean audit.
“You have a great strength in your business office now, because you have a trained staff,” Payne said.
School Board member Amy Pierce suggested the board applaud Finance Director Cortese and her first audit, which resulted in the highest rating. School Board President Keith Johnston also congratulated Cortese and her staff for a nice job and a clean audit.
The board and members of the audience clapped in appreciation.
The audit showed that the General Fund fund balance increased $794,245 from $7,972,611 on June 30, 2018 to $8,766,856 on June 30, 2019. The June 30, 2019 ending fund balance of $8,766,856 is 15.38% of expenditures.
This fund balance would fund the district for 30.45 days based on a 180-day school year. The state average is 13.42% fund balance (not counting Detroit Public Schools) which would fund 24.15 of a 180-day school year.
The number of students counted for September state aid membership in 2018-19 was 4,619, the lowest since the 5,030 for the 2014-15 school year shown on the chart presented by Payne. Supt. Kudlak pointed out it was higher than that in the years previous to 2014-15.
Her charts also showed student aid, determined by the foundation allowance times each student counted, came to $8,004 in the 2018-19 school year, up from $7,422 in the 2014-15 school year.
Sixty-eight percent of the general fund revenue comes from the state foundation grant and property taxes and 82% of the revenue goes for salaries and benefits.
She pointed out the $794,245 added to the fund balance last fiscal year showed that revenues exceeded expenditures.
The Food Service fund balance was $654,756, and Payne said the department is very well run and there was revenue of $30,000 over expenditures. She said the state doesn’t want Food Service to have more than what amounts to three months of expenditures on hand, so it has to be spent on various items for the department.
Payne said the Athletic Department, which the state merged with the general fund a few years ago, had expenditures of some $640,000, with about $400,000 coming from a general fund contribution and $150,000 from department revenues. This is about the same as the previous year.
She also discussed health-care and retirement liabilities.
Also, at Monday’s 62-minute meeting, the board:
• Approved the termination of Andrew Szuma from the Transportation Department after less than one year of service as of Oct. 31;
• Approved hiring the following non-instructional employees: Ashley Mazure, as a Paraprofessional for Student Services, as of Oct. 28; Rebekah Contreras as a Social Worker at Owen Intermediate, as of Nov. 4; and Jennifer Kroger as a Food Service Worker at Belleville High School as of Nov. 11;
• Heard a presentation by Edgemont Elementary School Principal Fred Abel and teacher Melinda Rafail on one of the school improvement initiatives being worked on this year. They told of the Instructional Rounds that pairs schools to look at each other’s teaching techniques. Edgemont was teamed with Brown Elementary in the Huron School District and learned about Nellie Edge, where letters and sounds are taught through music and movement, a sign language, which they demonstrated. This has raised comprehension at Brown and has been started with the Kindergarten at Edgemont;
• Learned a social worker has been hired for Owen and a third-grade teaching position filled at Rawsonville, completing staff needs;
• Heard Curriculum Director Jeff Moore announce that a $5,000 STEM grant from RESA and Carnegie was received by Savage Elementary. Only six schools in Wayne County received a like grant;
• Heard Moore say the sixth graders heading to camp in the morning will have a great time in the snow. [Later, after Supt. Kudlak cancelled school because of icy roads, buses were not running, so the camp was cancelled for Tuesday. It was announced later that the buses will run on Wednesday and the camp will go on as planned until the students come home on Friday, as planned.];
• Learned a GIS informational meeting was set for 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 for parents and students to learn about the class that will be taught by EMU scholars next semester. A BHS teacher will learn how to teach the course so it can be offered as a regular course;
• Heard Finance Director Cortese announce she went to a seminar on zero-based budgeting and she will be looking at that budgeting for some departments at first. She said the procedure helps root out expenses that are in place simply because they always have been; and
• Heard Kudlak say that on this Veterans Day he wanted to say that they appreciated all the sacrifices the veterans have made. He also wanted to thank the voters for approving the bond, which was passed by 56% who voted. He also noted this is the second November in a row that the football team has brought excitement to the district and it will be playing West Bloomfield at 1 p.m. Saturday at the BHS field for the regional title. He said these are the two, top-rated teams in division