Audit: District bests budget projections

Jan. 21, 2010

By PATRICK E. LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

Lower operating costs turned a deficit into a positive outcome for the New Castle Area School District.

Philip Weiner and Co., a city accounting firm, presented its audit of the district’s finances for the 2008-2009 school year. Weiner representatives Robert Izzo and John Ruhle discussed the report with school board members last week.

The district anticipated a $245,000 deficit when the board approved a $39.2 million budget. At
school year’s end, a fund balance of $1.2 million was in place.

“Expenses all were reduced with the exception of one item,” Izzo said. “Some of the income items went up.”

The district saw an increase of approximately $371,000 in revenue from its local, state and federal funding sources. It recorded $300,000 worth of reductions in operation and maintenance services, while salaries and benefits came in $500,000 lower.

The pre-kindergarten program exceeded its $669,000 allocation by $28,000.

The district’s overall general fund balance is at $7.6 million.

“The total assets of the school district are in a positive situation.” Ruhle said.

The audit noted New Castle became eligible in February 2009 for $2.4 million in federal stimulus funds. Over a two-year period, the money will be used for the elementary reading program, maintaining professional staff development, updating technology in the primary centers and extending the school year for special needs students.

Regarding long-term debt, New Castle had six bond issues as of June 30, 2009. The bonds total $38.6 million with an additional $29 million in interest payments. The district has budgeted approximately $2.7 million annually for those obligations.

Athletics cost $560,000 to operate. Admissions and other revenue sources provided $80,000. The district’s general fund brought the account to a zero balance with a transfer of $480,000.

“These are student-subsidized extracurricular activities,” Izzo said. “That’s the price all school districts pay to run these programs.”

The auditors reviewed three federally funded programs: the cafeteria, Reading First and a Title II program.

“We had to see that the instructors (in Reading First) were properly certified and then we checked the operating expenses,” Ruhle said. “We found them to be in order.”