by Mike Knaak
Health topics – both physical and financial – dominated the Nov. 15 Sartell-St. Stephen school board meeting.
District leaders will discuss modifications to the current Safe Learning Plan, including masking, at its Dec. 1 work group meeting. In the meantime, the district needs to comply with federal and state OSHA guidelines for staff vaccinations, Human Resources Krista Durrwachter said.
The state has advised the district to comply with the rules while lawsuits in federal court move ahead. By Dec. 5, the district will need to determine vaccination status of staff and by Jan. 3 implement a testing program for people who have not been vaccinated.
The district is not mandating vaccinations but has to follow the federal rules, Durrwachter said.
Auditors gave the district a clean bill of health on its annual financial audit.
Because of the large amount of federal Covid relief and nutrition money that flowed into the district during the audit period that ended on June 30, auditors focused on those accounts and found no problems.
Auditors flagged one issue – the lack of segregation of accounting duties. Because of a small staff, it’s not possible to separate accounting duties such as recording receipts and preparing and mailing checks. The same problem has been noted in past years and it’s a common finding in cities and school districts with small business staffs. The audit report noted the cost of separating the duties exceeds the benefits.
The district’s financial health is supported by the size of its unassigned fund balance. District policy calls for a balance of at least 10 percent of expenses. For the most recent year, the balance stands at 14.2 percent, or $6.4 million. That’s enough for the district to operate for a month and half.
State revenue accounts for 81.2 percent of the district’s budget of almost $49 million. Local property taxes account for 9.4 percent with other federal and state revenue making up the rest.
The audit report compares the Sartell-St. Stephen’s general fund revenue and expenses with similar districts and with the state average.
Sartell-St. Stephen’s general fund revenue per student is $843 compared with $2,477 at similar districts and with a $2,180 statewide average.
General fund expenses per student served shows a similar trend. Sartell-St. Stephen spends $10,320 per student compared with $13,586 in districts with similar enrollment and a statewide average of $13,313.
The audit was conducted by BergenKDV.
The board will meet in a work session at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1, at the high school.
The annual truth in taxation meeting will be 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20, at the high school followed by the regular monthly board meeting.
