Colfax ends 2015-2016 school year with $124,648 surplus

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX — The audit of the Colfax school district for the 2015-2016 school year shows a surplus of $124,648.

The Colfax Board of Education reviewed the audit at a special meeting July 18.

The audit also shows a fund balance of $1,843,992 on June 30, 2015, and a fund balance of $1,968,640 on June 30, 2016.

The difference in the fund balance from 2015 to 2016 is the $124,648 surplus.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the Colfax district received $930,536 in property taxes.

Capital projects

The Colfax Board of Education established a Fund 46 capital projects account last year.

The audit shows a balance of $1,500 in Fund 46 as of June 30.

A Fund 46 must be in existence for five years before money in the fund can be used for projects in the school district, said Bill Yingst, district administrator.

The school district is already one year into the Fund 46 account, and one of the agenda items for the regular school board meeting July 18 was to take action on an allocation for Fund 46.

During the regular board meeting that followed the audit meeting and the budget review meeting, Yingst recommended splitting the surplus in half and putting $62,324 into Fund 46.

Leaving half of the money in the fund balance and putting half into Fund 46 would leave the fund balance at 22 percent of the district’s budget, Yingst said.

The recommendation from financial consultants is to maintain the fund balance at 20 to 25 percent of the district’s budget, he said.

At the regular school board meeting, the Board of Education unanimously approved putting $62,324 into Fund 46 and leaving the remainder in the district’s fund balance.

Food service

The audit shows the school district’s food service fund with a surplus of $75,576 at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

For the last several years, the food service fund has had a deficit of about $5,000 at the end of the school year, Yingst said.

In January, the Colfax school district switched to the federal breakfast program and now receives reimbursements, he said.

The school district has started using the money to replace kitchen equipment, Yingst said.

Budget review

At another special school board meeting following the audit review, the Colfax Board of Education reviewed the proposed budget for the 2016-2017 school year.

The proposed expenditure budget of $8,671,442.64 includes $6,272,895.88 for salaries and benefits; $938,270.30 for purchased services; $327,000 for non-capital improvements; $125,000 for capital improvements; $136,184 for insurance and judgments; $769,092.46 for interfund transfers; and $48,000 for “other.”

Although final numbers for state aid will not be confirmed until October, the proposed budget for 2016-2017 shows an increase of $258,692 for a total of $5.6 million.

Federal aid in the proposed 2016-2017 budget shows a decrease of $19,087, along with a decrease of $28,834 for “all other sources.”

The school tax levy of $2,611,672 for the proposed 2016-2017 budget shows a decrease of $147,910 for the 2016-2017 school year.