School District No. 57 (SD57) is starting the year in a healthy financial position, yet again.
The district is once again starting the year with a little extra change in the bank.
Last year, SD57 started with $17 million in accumulated operating surplus, and this year are beginning with $12.2 million in accumulated operating surplus.
Although that is a decrease of $5 million, the board of education says it’s a very good news story.
Board Chair Tim Bennett says a lot of the $12.2 million in surplus is already allocated for other projects.
The board actually has a policy that it should not hold more than five per cent of surplus of operating expense in schools and no more than three per cent of operating expense to future budgets.
Secretary-Treasurer Darleen Patterson says this year the board falls within that threshold.
“The board has made conscious decisions in the coming year to use surplus for specific projects,” said Patterson at last night's (Sept. 24) Board of Education meeting.
“The surplus was and is always a great concern to the board,” said Bennett. “Thank you to staff for hearing the concerns of the board and ensuring dollars are spent wisely on students. I think I can speak for the board when we say we prioritize investing resources for the kids that generate the funds and it is good to see that surplus amount has come down over the year.”
The board also approved the 2018-19 Financial Statements and received a clean audit report from the accounting company KPMG.
To get the full breakdown of the school district’s finances, check out their financial statements in the Sept. 24 Board of Education meeting agenda.
