MAYFIELD – The Mayfield Central School District’s finances were recently given a clean bill of health after an annual audit, officials said.
Board of Education President Ernie Clapper said the board met with a representative of West Company, who performed the audit.
“It was a very good report for MCS,” Clapper said, congratulating the business office for their work. “It was very pleasant to sit at an auditor’s report and hear from our West Company [representative] that things are looking brighter than they have the last two or three years.”
In 2011, the district had a $16.6 million budget, which decreased spending by $333,128 and called for a tax-levy increase of 4.9 percent.
However, the district eliminated 21.5 full-time equivalent positions, resulting in 17.5 layoffs. Many of the staff positions were eliminated because of declining enrollment in the district.
In 2012, a $17.4 million budget was approved for 2012-13 that required $1.1 million from the fund balance to get the district’s tax-levy increase just below the state-imposed tax cap.
In a summary of the audit, written by District Treasurer Brenda Leitt, with the 2012-13 budget totalling about $17.4 million, the general fund revenues came in at $84,000 above what was budgeted and the expenses came in lower than budgeted.
“On a $17 million budget, that is very good,” Leitt said.
She said the audit also showed the district is more solvent that it was two years ago.
“This is due to the fact that the district has been very careful about spending and has planned properly for the future,” Leitt said.
Superintendent Joseph Natale said the revenues were well balanced.
“This doesn’t mean that we don’t have to continue to be cautious,” Leitt said, citing rising costs in insurance and retirement.
With 51 percent of its revenue coming from state aid and 34 percent coming from taxes, Leitt said, the district does not have a lot of flexibility in being able to increase its revenue.
Leitt said a single audit of the federal funds shows there were no material weaknesses and no financial findings or questioned costs, which means the district uses federal money appropriately and follows federal regulations and proper procedures for those funds.
