By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp. — On Oct. 17, at the Brandon Board of Education meeting, Paul Bryant, Chris Kassob and Lauren Solano of Plante Moran presented the school district’s annual financial statements and auditor’s report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.
The board voted 5-0 to approve the audit. Board members Lisa Kavalhuna and John Chartier were absent with notice.
According to the audit for the fiscal year 2021-2022 the general fund revenues of $28,450,491 with expenditures of $27,933,819 and additional uses of $441,550, increased the fund balance by $75,122 to a total of $4,199,239. The fund balance is about 15 percent of expenditures.
“One thing this district does extremely well is budget,” said Bryant. “The state looks at this as well. When you approved your final budget, you basically approved it to break even. You’re actually under budget.”
In keeping with past years, the district had 54.6 percent of expenditures going back into the classroom with teacher wages, substitute teachers, classroom supplies, textbooks, classroom equipment and furniture. The district has kept the number around 55 percent for the last ten years.
“You’re putting out a good product for students and the community,” said Bryant. “No matter what has happened in the outside world, you’ve been very consistent in making sure dollars are staying as much as you can in the classroom.”
The audit also showed that, while funding has gone up to $8,700 per pupil, the district is down 107 students.
“When we’re talking about revenue, what happens is when you lose students, the revenue is gone but it’s split across the district,” said Bryant. “So you still have a classroom, you lose two kids out of that classroom with that revenue, but you still have the classroom, the teacher, the overhead, everything. So expenses don’t equate one to one with the revenue that you lose. Regardless of this happening with your decrease, you still put dollars back in the classroom to try to maintain instruction at a certain level.”
The decrease in enrollment is a common trend across the state.
“I will say this is not a Brandon issue, this is a state-wide issue,” said Kassob. “Most of my districts that I work with have a declining student enrollment.”