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Mostly Cloudy State: District took positive action
Lawrence school finances are in good shape
Following two years in which it was considered in fiscal stress, the Lawrence School District has received a passing grade for its financial health, according to an audit by the state comptroller’s office.
The office examined the school district’s financial records from July 1, 2014, through Nov. 6, 2015, as well as fund balances dating back to July 1, 2010. Auditors reviewed adopted budgets, financial statements and reports, compared budgetary and actual revenues and spending, and evaluated operations and use of the fund balance.
Lawrence’s financial health had been called into question by the state for the 2013-14 school year, when the district was considered in moderate fiscal stress. The following year its financial stress was described as significant, based on the comptroller’s report. Districts are graded on a 100-point scale based on fund balances, operating deficits, available cash and debt. Stress reports and audits are conducted separately.
“We looked more closely at school districts that had moderate and significant stress for different reasons during the fiscal years of 2014-2015,” said Brian Butry, a spokesman for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “Lawrence has taken the appropriate steps to improve the district’s financial condition.” Butry added that the comptroller’s office is in the process of auditing all of the state’s school districts.
A school district’s financial condition, as defined by the office, reflects its ability to balance expenses with revenues while providing educational services.
The comptroller’s office viewed Lawrence’s unrestricted fund balance of just under $4.24 million for the 2014-15 fiscal year — 4 percent of the following year’s budget, a substantial increase over previous years — as a positive step toward ensuring a solid financial footing.
Examiners also noted the $8.5 million generated by the sale of the Number Six School in Woodmere to the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, and the fact that the district spent $5 million taxpayer-approved improvements to the high school and middle school.
“The board and district management effectively managed the district’s financial condition,” comptroller’s office officials wrote in their report. “The district’s unrestricted fund balance for fiscal years 2010-11 through 2013-14 remained consistent at approximately 1 percent of the subsequent year’s appropriations. The district took positive action in managing the district’s financial condition.”
Jeremy Feder, assistant superintendent for business, said that the audit’s findings represent the “highest compliment” the district could receive from the state about its financial health after the past two years, in which it was considered in fiscal stress. “It is gratifying that the hard work and competence of our entire business office and district in general has been formally recognized,” Feder said. “These audit results validate our position that the district was unfairly placed on the list of districts in distress. The district’s presence on this list was due to the timing of expenditures and Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements relating to damage incurred at the high school from Superstorm Sandy.”
There was good news on the FEMA front as well. Lawrence will see more than $1 million added to the $2.6 million that was approved by the agency last year to repair damages resulting from Sandy. All the funding is for the emergency repairs and electrical work at Lawrence High, which was closed for three months in 2013.
“There’s no better federal investment than one that helps educate students in a safe and learning-friendly environment,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a media release.
Have an opinion about the Lawrence School District’s financial condition? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.
