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School district debt-free

After the Weyauwega-Fremont (W-F) School District makes its $450,000 principal payment Friday, Oct. 1, the district will be debt-free.

“Not many districts can claim that,” John Knepel, a partner with Baker Tilly of Milwaukee, said Monday night during a school board meeting.

Knepel presented a report on the district’s annual audit. Baker Tilly has done an independent audit of the school district for the last several years.

He told the school board that he works with about seven schools and that of the schools he works with, W-F is the only one that will be without debt.

“Overall, you stand very well in comparison to other districts I’m involved with,” Knepel said.

He said the school district’s total net assets of $9.4 million is up about half a million from the prior year.

Revenues decreased about $180,000 and expenses decreased about $70,000 from the previous year, Knepel said.

There was a reduction of federal stabilization funds of $366,000 and a reduction of state equalization aid of $436,000. He said all school districts experienced that.

Knepel said the district’s general fund balance was $5 million and that total fund balances increased approximately $400,000.

He called the school district’s general fund balance “healthy.”

The audit notes that the district has two deficiencies – the same ones that were issues last year. Those deficiencies are a lack of segregation of duties in the accounting function and the fact that the district does not have individuals within its organization that could prepare the year-end external financial statements.

Knepel said it is not uncommon or unusual for a district the size of W-F to have those two conditions. Changes are not recommended to address them.

“It is a very common situation in entities your size,” he said of the lack of segregation of duties in the district’s accounting function. “It is a judgment call – as long as you are aware of the situation and monitor it closely.”

Knepel said the district’s staff does not have the necessary training to prepare its year-end external financial statements.

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