The Forney Independent School District was presented an “unmodified opinion letter” by external audit firm Whitley Penn Audit Firm at their last School Board meeting on Monday, October 14, 2013 for their 2012-13 school year.
The Forney Independent School District was presented an “unmodified opinion letter” by external audit firm Whitley Penn Audit Firm at their last School Board meeting on Monday, October 14, 2013 for their 2012-13 school year.
In the financial world, an unmodified opinion letter is the best type of report an auditee can receive from an external auditor. The news of a clean audit is leaps and bounds in the right direction from where the district stood in 2011, facing a $13.6 million repayment to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Although the district still has two $2.7 million payments left in a series of five, audit representative Celina Miller told the Board of Trustees the district is now operating on a surplus of $4,734,254. The operating surplus leaves the districts fund balance at a positive $1.283 million, the first positive fund balance since 2011. The district's “repayments” are actually reductions in the amount of money the district receives from the TEA.
“This is a remarkable accomplishment as two short years ago the District had an operating deficit of $5,045,069 and 16 material weakness and compliance concerns,” FISD Chief Financial Officer Lucas Janda stated.
To achieve the financial gains the District realized over the course of the year, Janda acknowledged significant spending reductions were made since 2011 including $1,278,164 (29%) in central office support services, $797,996 (31%) in athletics, and $690,309 (17%) in non-instructional campus support services.
“The accomplishments referenced by Mrs. Miller were a testament to the Forney ISD Board of Trustees and the Superintendent of Schools, Michael Holland,” Janda added. “Any organization’s success relies on the dedication and support from the top down. This was truly a team effort as all staff stepped up and helped find ways to do more with less.”
With the district's financials back in the “black”, administrators have been able to hire additional teachers to reduce the class sizes back to Texas Education Code standards. Last year, nearly 30 waivers were filed with the TEA for class sizes larger than the maximum requirement of 22 and some classes had as many as 25 students in them. This year, only eight waivers will be filled with the TEA, four of which are dual language classes in kindergarten and first grade.
In April 2013, the Forney Independent School District also settled its lawsuit against former audit company Rutherford, Taylor & Company for $400,000, ending a nearly two year legal battle.
