Chelsea District Schools Superintendent Andy Ingall said the district received a “clean audit” with no findings and no suggestions of bookkeeping changes during a presentation from its auditors from Rehmann Robson on Monday night.
In fact, he said, Board president Steve Olsen commended the business office for “outstanding work” and he echoed those sentiments.
The audit showed a fund balance of $4.9 million, just shy of 20 percent of the district’s general operating budget.
“We received another good audit,” Ingall said by phone on Tuesday.
A clean, or unqualified audit, is the highest grade an audit can receive. This means that all acceptable accounting practices are being followed and that independent auditors found no discrepancies.
In addition, the Board of Education listened to a presentation from Teresa Zigman, executive director of business and operations, during which she explained the first budget amendments for this year.
Adjustments had to be made in the preliminary budget because of the loss of 55 students, which amounts to about $400,000, and coupled with other adjustments in state funding, the district is looking at about a $507,000 loss in revenue that will be made up by fund balance.
Originally, Ingall said, the district was looking at about a $600,000 deficit, “so we’re chipping away at that number.”
He said the district’s goal is to continue to trim that number by reducing and controlling spending while looking for additional revenue, such renting the Washington Street Education Center to groups for events.
He said that because the district has a “healthy fund balance, we are not in crisis mode and we are not looking at any layoffs.”
“We will continue to keep our belt tight and to talk about other revenue options,” he said.
Included in those revenue options was the good news that the Chelsea Free Methodist Church plans to continue to rent space in the Washington Street Education Center through 2014.
