Annual Audit Reveals Positive Indicators for G-R

Superintendent News & Views

Annual Audit Reveals Positive Indicators for G-R

By David Hill, G-R Superintendent

Each of Iowa’s 333 school districts is audited annually.  Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s annual audit was released recently, and this year’s audit includes several positive indicators showing that the district is headed in the right direction financially. 

The independent audit by Hunt & Associates, P.C. for the fiscal year which ended on June 30, 2017, was conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The auditors reviewed evidence of the district’s financial transactions and internal controls, along with the appropriateness of the accounting policies used by the district. 

The audit points out numerous pieces of information which indicate the financial health of the district.  Highlights of the report include:

GENERAL FUND BALANCE.  The district’s General Fund balance increased from $1,522,247 in 2016 to $1,782,216 in 2017, a 17.07% increase.

SOLVENCY RATIO.  The district’s solvency ratio increased from 20.77% in fiscal year 2016 to 24.88% in fiscal year 2017. A school district’s solvency level indicates that the district is able to meet unforeseen financing requirements and presents a sound risk for the timely repayment of short-term debt obligations.

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES.  The district’s outstanding long-term liabilities decreased by 2.3%. 

REVENUES VS. EXPENDITURES.  In fiscal year 2017, revenues exceeded expenditures by $254,919.  Revenues increased by $259,969, while expenditures also increased by $230,858.  Much of the increase in both revenues and expenditures can be accredited to the new Teacher Leadership Program, which generates revenues but comes with additional costs. 

During the exit conference on their last day at G-R, the auditors expressed their appreciation for the professionalism, organization, and accuracy of the district’s staff – specifically mentioning Business Manager Deb Oleson by name. I know that the school board and I concur with the auditor’s opinion. She is truly the best of the best, and I thank Deb for her diligence and hard work on behalf of the students, staff, and patrons of the district. 

You don’t have to take my word for it…the most recent audit can be viewed by the public at https://tinyurl.com/GR17Audit.  Like all audits of school districts, cities, and other public entities, the audit will eventually be posted on the State Auditor’s website at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.  At this site, you can review audits from previous years as well. 

Since I’m sharing the good news about this year’s audit, I would like to add another positive indicator to the list that doesn’t appear in the audit.  When looking at a district’s financial health, one of the most important indicators is the district’s Unspent Authorized Budget (UAB) which is often indicated as both a whole number and a ratio.

The UAB doesn’t appear in an audit because it isn’t actual cash, it is an indication of the district’s legal spending authority.  Spending authority is critically important since a negative UAB is illegal and can lead to a district being dissolved by the state. 

The good news is that G-R’s Unspent Authorized Budget is up for the third year in a row, from $1,624,748 at the end of fiscal year 2016 to $1,956,532 at the end of fiscal year 2017.  During the same period, the district’s UAB ratio (calculated by taking the UAB divided by the district’s maximum authorized budget) increased from 20.5% to 23%. It is recommended that districts maintain this ratio between 5% and 15%, with a maximum of 25%, so as you can see, G-R is near the top of this recommended range. 

I believe that this increased spending authority is evidence that the district’s efforts over the past few years to reduce spending are working.  While the district did experience an enrollment increase this year, projections still show declining enrollment in the coming years; therefore, we will need to continue our efforts to monitor and control spending in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the district. 

   We are now more than half of the way through fiscal year 2018, and it is time to prepare the budget for fiscal year 2019.  The proposed budget will be published in the Northern Sun Print and Reinbeck Courier in accordance with the legal publication deadlines leading up to the upcoming public hearing on the budget. Any district patron who may be interested is welcome to attend the public hearing, which is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12 in the vocal music room at Gladbrook-Reinbeck Jr./Sr. High School.

You are welcome to visit my blog at http://rebelsupt.blogspot.com/ where this column and all of the columns I have written for the Northern Sun Print and Reinbeck Courier are posted. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @DavidRobertHill. 

The Future of the Gladbrook School Building

Superintendent News & Views

The Future of the Gladbrook School Building

By David Hill, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent

Perhaps you have heard of the former Geneseo Consolidated School District, located east of Buckingham in the northeastern part of Tama County.  I was born and raised on my family farm not far from the Geneseo school. My grandmother was a teacher there for most of her career, and my grandfather proudly served on the Geneseo school board for many years. For my family and countless others, it was a sad day when the Dysart-Geneseo school district decided to close the building in the early 1980’s. 

What’s even sadder than the closing of the Geneseo building is the CURRENT condition of the building. For decades, the building has sat empty…rotting and decaying. Many portions of the roof have caved in, and small trees are actually growing inside of the “new gym.”  Critters of all kinds can easily enter and exit the building. Graffiti and other forms of vandalism have also taken their toll over the years, and who knows what other types of criminal activities have taken place there.  For those who remember the “glory days” of the Geneseo schools, it is truly a letdown to see what this building has become. 

The former Geneseo Consolidated School, located near Buckingham in Tama County. Closed for about 35 years, the building is decaying and dangerous. Imagine if this dangerous eyesore was located in the middle of your town!  

One difference between the Geneseo school and many of the other closed school buildings all over the state is that the Geneseo school is located in a rural area and is not in the center of a town.  Imagine what a hazard and an eyesore it would be to have a decaying school building like this in the middle of your town! 

The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District now has a closed building of its own to deal with. We can’t “bury our heads in the sand” like some other school districts have done and just ignore the issue…I believe it is our responsibility to do something about it.  The residents of Gladbrook deserve a school district that will face this issue, no matter how heartbreaking or controversial it may be.  It is in the best interest of the residents of Gladbrook AND in the best interest of G-R schools to avoid having a rotting, decaying school in the middle of Gladbrook. 

One option would be to sell the building to someone who will maintain it.  The building has been offered to the City of Gladbrook and understandably, the city isn’t interested in becoming the owner.  Selling to a private owner comes with great risk, as a private owner may have great hopes and plans for a building like this, but history has shown that they often do not follow through. This is what happened with the Geneseo building and countless other closed school buildings around the state – the building is sold to a private owner who maintains it for a while but eventually, they discontinue maintenance and the building falls into disarray. 

Realizing this, district officials are investigating the possibility of demolishing all or part of the building.  We have had meetings with Gladbrook’s mayor and representatives from the city council about this, and the general consensus is that it would be better to demolish the unused parts of the building than to have it sit there empty for years and become a hazard and an eyesore like so many other closed school buildings throughout the state.  While it would be great to see the building repurposed for a positive use, no one has come forward with a viable plan to make this happen. 

Gladbrook city officials have stated that they will notify us later this month which portions of the building, if any, they would like to assume ownership of after a partial demolition.  The City of Gladbrook currently operates the swimming pool as a public pool and operates a fitness center located inside the facility, and the district would like the city to be able to continue these uses if they so desire.  If the city decides that they would like to become the owner of these portions of the building, the district is likely to proceed with tentative plans to demolish the remaining portions.

City leaders in Gladbrook are now wrestling with the question of whether they would like to keep the pool, keep the fitness center, possibly keep the gym and make it a part of the fitness center, or whether they would prefer to have the district tear down the entire building. 

The City of Gladbrook operates a fitness center and uses the school's
swimming pool as a public pool. The G-R school district would like
the city to be able to continue these uses if they so desire.

The demolition or partial demolition of a school building is a long process. Steps in the process

include asbestos abatement (which could take place as early as this coming fall), having an architect or engineer draw up specifications for demolition or partial demolition, determining how to pay for the cost of demolition, and accepting public bids for demolition and any related construction to “shore up” the remaining parts of the building.  If a viable proposal for repurposing the building comes forward while we are working through the process, we will certainly consider any and all proposals received. Realizing that this is probably a “long-shot” at best, the responsible thing to do is to at least proceed with tentative plans for a demolition.

While this isn’t a fun topic to write about and for many of you, I’m sure it’s not a fun topic to read about, I do believe that facing this issue “head-on” is the responsible thing to do and the right thing to do…for the town of Gladbrook and for the entire G-R district.

You are welcome to visit my blog at http://rebelsupt.blogspot.com/ where this column and all of the columns I have written for the Northern Sun Print and Reinbeck Courier are posted. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @DavidRobertHill.