Accountant: H-BC finances are 'great'

Independent auditor Matt Taubert repeatedly used “great” as he presented the recent fiscal end audit to members of the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board.
Taubert is a certified public accountant with Meulebroeck, Taubert and Co. from Pipestone. The firm has audited the school district’s financials since 2012, when the district recorded a general fund balance of negative $247,000.
“You’ve worked your way up to a $4,010,711 positive fund balance. That’s great — I have no other way to say it,” Taubert said.
“In 10 years you’ve increased the fund balance by $4.2 million. So that is great.”
H-BC brought forward $4 million into the new school year, according to the audit report ending June 31, 2021.
Taubert recalled the district’s informal policy to maintain at least a 20 percent revenue over expenditures in the general fund each fiscal year. H-BC’s three-year average is 63.5 percent.
“That’s great. Obviously, your job is not to accumulate fund balances, but it is nice to have fund balances to weather potential storms in the funding side,” Taubert said.
For the 2020-21 school year, revenue reached $5.3 million or about $446,000 more than projected.
Taubert attributed the increase in revenue to more federal aid sent to the district via coronavirus pandemic aid.
The district spent $4.8 million during the 2020-21 school year, which included $419,000 in building maintenance, with more than half spent on a roofing project at the elementary school.
Also, according to the audit, the food service fund achieved a positive fund balance of $88,108 after receiving $248,002 for 2020-21 and spending $160,894.
A positive balance of $33,457 was recorded in the community service fund with $119,437 in revenue and $85,980 in expenditures.
The district has $2.9 million unassigned in its general fund balance.
 
Deficit projected for current school year
During Hills-Beaver Creek School District’s Truth in Taxation public hearing Dec. 13, Superintendent Todd Holthaus said the decline in enrollment will lessen the per pupil aid garnered from the local 2022 levy by 2.61 percent or $35,726.
The hearing, which no one from the public attended, followed the district’s favorable audit report.
“The district is sitting in a very good financial situation right now in regard to reserves,” Holthaus said.
“Those dollars will be coming in handy as we move forward in regard to declining enrollment.”
Board members anticipate ending the 2021-22 school year with a deficit of $314,000 due to less revenue and more staff to meet student needs.
However, Holthaus said, no federal Covid aid is included in the existing budget.
H-BC voters recently approved renewing the district’s excess levy for the next 10 years, which included annual adjustments for inflation.
Local property owners will contribute $1.33 million to the district’s planned $4.8 million 2021-22 budget.