“You had a great year financially,” said Casey Ardoin, auditor, in regards to the board’s annual audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, at its meeting Monday.
Ardoin, a partner at Kolder, Slaven and Company LLC commended the Allen Parish School Board and its finance department for accomplishing a clean audit complete with a surplus.
Ardoin reviewed the audit with the board and reported the board had received a clean opinion or unmodified opinion. This means, by definition, the auditor was satisfied with the financial statements audited and the statements met the requirements demanded by the regulations.
The parish’s balance sheet for its general fund, indicated the school board’s assets were at $21.6 million ($21,696,632), which Ardoin said was mainly due to the federal grants the parish received during the previous fiscal year (2020-2021). The school board’s liabilities were at $5.85 million ($5,580,069), and the board’s total fund balance was $16.1 million ($16,116,563). He said of that $16.1 million figure, $11.7 million ($11,729,258) constituted the unassigned portion.
“Anything over 10 percent is good,” Ardoin said. “You guys are at 24 percent.”
After the meeting he explained, the unassigned general fund balance consists of monies not earmarked for anything. When the industry or school board standards are considered, the total number of those funds are used to derive a percentage. They recommend boards should be at 10 percent to be in a good financial position. He said Allen Parish is actually at 24.3 percent, which is more than double what the standard rule is.
Ardoin’s report included operations were at $48.1 million in total revenues and $47.2 in expenses. The board’s surplus is at $2.1 million. “That’s a very large surplus.”
He explained the surplus comes from other funding sources that are transferred into the general fund such as the Coushatta Gaming Fund. These funds totaled $2.1 million and created the board’s surplus for the fiscal year.
Ardoin said the board handled lots of federal grants this past fiscal year and received approximately $1.3 million in funds through the ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) program, COVID 19. He said the board’s total expenditures in federal monies totaled $6,204,776.
Ardoin also said the board stayed within the five percent thresholds established by the LGBA (Local Government Budget Act) in regards to revenues and expenditures.
He commended former finance director, Tammi Ritchie, and said the board’s newest finance director, Lynnsey McClusky, also was going to be good. McClusky worked as Ritchie’s assistant.
