By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich — On Sept 26, the board of trustees of Goodrich Area Schools accepted an audit from Flint based-Lewis & Knopf for the 2021-2022 fiscal year ending June 30. The audit was presented by Allen Gamble.
The district ended the fiscal year with a general fund balance of 16 percent or $3,579,371 down from $3,781,456 in the 2020-21 year.
“The spike in 2021 was due to the Covid funding and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER),” said Gamble.
The state average for general fund balance is about 15-20 percent, a range for districts about the same size as Goodrich, about two to three months of expenditures.
The district fund balance declined by $202,085 snapping six consecutive years of increases to the schools coffers. The district fund balance has rallied from a low of $1,336,529 in the 2013-14 school year.
“The district did receive a ‘Clean Unmodified’ audit opinion,” said Gamble. “No findings or issues were noted (from the audit). The district did a fabulous job.”
The 2021-22 general fund revenues for the district were $22,152,106 up from $22,048,018 the 2020-21 fiscal year.
The 2021-22 general fund expenditures for the district increased to $22,354,191 up for the second year from $20,860,038.
According to the audit, 64 percent of all expenditures are spent on instruction of the students. The state average is about 65 percent. About 36 are support services. A total of 42 percent of the district’s funds are spent on salaries with 31 percent on benefits for a total of 74 percent. The state average is 80 to 90 percent for payroll.
Student count dipped for the fourth consecutive year in 2021-22 to 1,992 students from 2,091 in 2020-21. The highest student enrollment since 2016 was 2,144 in 2018.
“Even though the number of students is decreasing, the state keeps increasing the foundation allowance which offsets the decrease,” said Gamble. “The allowance increases have stayed steady.”
The board of trustees had revenues budgeted of $22.41 million and actual was $22.15 million a variance of $255,000 under budget. Similarly, the board budgeted expenditures of $22.8 million and actual was $22.35 million a variance of $446,000 under budget.