BROSELEY -- The Twin Rivers R-X School District saw revenues increase about $35,000 over the previous year while expenses decreased, auditor Dwayne Clark reported to the board of education.
"There is a big change in your finances for this year," Clark said during Tuesday's meeting.
Twin Rivers saw renovations within the district in 2017, which led to about $63,000 of deficit spending. This year looked much different, ending about $123,000 in the black.
The beginning balance for the Twin Rivers School District in the July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 fiscal school year was $2,512,000, according to Clark. The end balance came in at $2,635,000.
"You have very healthy fund balances," he said.
As a recommendation, Clark said he usually likes to see about three months of operating expenses on hand in case there is some kind of issue in receiving state funding.
"You're a little over that," Clark said. "Your fund balance is in good shape."
While completing the district's audit, Clark informed the board the district was down about 40 students.
"It's this way for a lot of schools in the area," he added.
According to Superintendent Jeremy Siebert, the district has absorbed some positions during retirements and made several positions part-time to offset the decreased enrollment.
A couple of findings with recommendations were also given to the board from Clark that were found while conducting the audit.
Clark suggested the district utilize a program within the accounting software that reconciles bank statements each month to ensure the possibility of something getting through and not on the books.
According to board secretary and treasurer Leah Winchester, a glitch when switching programs resulted in the report being off, but said the issue has been corrected.
Clark also recommended someone outside the accounting department review the reconciliations each month to check for items out of the ordinary.
Clark added he spoke with Siebert about conducting the check at the end of each month.
School districts are required to have written policies about federal grants and spending money, which Twin Rivers does.
The recommendation from Clark stems from keeping a "procurement history file" when shopping around for competitive bids.
"I believe the school district is shopping around, but it's just not documented," he said.
Clark also recommended the district keep documentation of reasons or purposes traveled when completing mileage reports.
Clark added he was not questioning the expenses that included vouchers, he just would like to see more information.
MAP AND EOC SCORES
Building principals reported MAP and end-of-course exam scores within their buildings to the board.
While Fisk Elementary has seen lower scores compared to the state average, Principal Leean Mann reported a slight increase in MAP scores.
"We are still below the state average in almost every area, but we are closing the gap," she said.
Rather than looking at grade levels as a whole, Mann said Fisk is now looking at students individually.
"They are not going to jump from below basic to advance in one year, but they are slowly and steadily climbing up," she said.
Mann added the gap between the state average and Fisk students is not as big when compared to years past.
"You're heading in right direction," board member Donna Sue Ashcraft-Fincher said. "It's still an improvement."
Qulin Principal Seth McBroom reported while his building's scores looked different compared to years past, most grades are still at the state average.
Adjustments have been made in math to improve student scores, which have hovered just at or slightly below the state average.
"We feel like the scores are close to the state average in a lot of areas and hopefully we are making steps in the right direction," McBroom said.
Twin Rivers High School Principal Misti Lovelace reported increases in the math and social studies scores, but a slight decrease in communication arts.
ECSE UPDATE
Early Childhood Special Education classes will kick-off next month in Fisk and Qulin.
At the max, 20 students are enrolled at the Fisk campus with a waiting list while about 15 students are set to attend in Qulin.
"It's exciting times for Twin Rivers," Siebert said.
SCHOOL BOARD FILING
Four individuals have filed for two open seats in the Twin Rivers School District for the April election.
Incumbents Jeff Arnold and Dennis Whitlow have filed as well as Lee Wright and Bruce Goodrich.
Filing for the three-year terms will run through Jan. 15 at the Central Office in Broseley.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
During executive session, the board unanimously accepted resignations from assistant volleyball coach Brittany Kelly, Fisk physical education teacher Kathy Norris and Fisk aide Chelsea Wilson.
Unanimously hired by the board were full-time physical education substitute Amanda Warrick, Fisk cafeteria worker and custodian Garrick Sentell, Fisk nurse Selena McClintic, Fisk aide Taylor Trover and district aide Jordan Moffitt.
NEXT MEETING
The next Twin Rivers R-X Board of Education meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17 at the Central Office board room.