Inver Grove Heights School District Receives "Clean" Audit

Inver Grove Heights School District's finances have a relatively clean bill of health, according to an independent auditor's report presented on Nov. 14 to members of the district's school board.

The auditor, MMKR Certified Public Accountants, evaluated the accuracy of the district's financial statements over the 2011 fiscal year, the district's internal control over financial reporting and the district's financial performance. Minnesota law requires school districts to submit to the annual audit.

The firm gave the district's financial statements a "clean opinion without exception." But in the report given at the board meeting, MMKR representative Bill Lauer noted that the district has "less than perfect" segregation of duties in its business office because of the small size of the business office staff.

Here are the highlights from the district's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

• The total net assets of the district grew from roughly $13.7 million in 2010 to roughy $17 million in 2011, driven in part by a significant improvement in the district's general fund balance, which increased by roughly $2 million between 2010 and 2011. The district ended the fiscal year with nearly $10 million in its general fund. The increase in the general fund balance isn't unusual, Lauer said, as more districts in the state take a more aggressive approach to cost-cutting.

• The district's revenues increased by $1,874,166 this year—almost half of which is attributable to the increase in investment income for the district.

• The district's expenses grew from $44,093,579 in 2010 to $44,422,922 in 2011. That growth was driven by instructional and pupil support services, special education instruction and expenses related to the district's sites and buildings, according to the report. The most significant growth came in the area of special education instruction, which felt an increase of $264,141.

• The single largest area of expense continues to be elementary and secondary regular instruction. In 2011, the district spent $16,281,999 elementary and secondary regular instruction, which comprised roughly 36.7 percent of the district's total expenses. The second-largest expense category in 2011 was special education instruction.

• The district came in $683,180 under its projected expenditures in 2011, primarily due to lower than expected salary costs.