By David Fleet

Editor

Goodrich-By a 7-0 vote on Monday night the school board of trustees accepted an audit from Lewis & Knopf for the 2015-16 fiscal year ending June 30. The audit was presented by Antia Abrol, principal.

The district ended the 2015-16 fiscal year with a fund balance of 10.01 percent or $1,845,088, up from 1,799,546 at the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year. The district added to the fund balance by $45,542 the second consecutive year of increases to the schools coffers. The district fund balance rallied from a fund balance to a low of $1,336,529 in the 2013-14 school year.

“This is good news,” said David Cramer, school board president. “As everyone knows our salaries and benefits are at 73 percent—it’s our biggest asset and our liability. We need to be mindful of all the other expenditures to keep the dollars in the classrooms where it belongs.”

The hike in fund balance is critical for school districts like Goodrich following the adoption of Public Act 109 signed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2015 as part of the state’s early warning legislation. The act amends the Revised School Code to require any district without a positive general fund balance of at least 5 percent for the two most recent school fiscal years to report annually by July 7 of each year the budgetary assumptions used when adopting its annual budget to the Center for Educational Performance and Information. Based on the report, the state treasurer may determine if the potential for fiscal stress exists within the district.

The 2015-16 revenues for the district were $18,470,222 down from $19,204,302 in the 2014-15 a total decline of $734,080. The dip in revenues were from state funds and other funds according to the audit.

“The majority of the decrease in general fund miscellaneous revenues from 2015 to 2016 was due to bus loan proceeds that Goodrich received in 2015 in the amount of $476,000 that was not received in 2016,” said Stacy L. Pascuzzo, shared-time director of business services, for the Genesee Intermediate School District.

In February 2015 the district purchased six 77-passenger Blue Bird buses to be financed through an installment purchase agreement for the sum of $476,778. The district purchased the buses from Holland, Michigan-based Holland Bus Company.

“The rest of the general fund revenue decline was due to loss in state aid funds, in which the following revenues were no longer being funded by the state in 2016,” added Pascuzzo. “Which included $110,000 reduction in 22f Best Practice incentive, $250,000 reduction in 22c Foundation Equity Funds and $210,000 reduction in 22j District Performance Funding.”

District expenditures were at $18,433,880 in 2015-16 down from $18,741,285 a decline in expenses of $307, 405 a total of $137, 000 under the school budget. The student enrolment is up 28 pupils from 2,109 to 2,137.

“The board did a great job,” added Abrol. “The board had budgeted for a deficient of $247,000 but had a surplus of $45,000. Student count for the district has remained pretty steady. This is an important number to stay around the 2,100 (enrollment) mark.”