Tooele County School District passed its annual independent audit with flying colors.
“In our opinion, your financial statements accurately reflect the financial position of the school district,” said Dave Brown, with the Orem-based accounting firm of Squire and Company, during Tuesday’s School Board meeting. “Our opinion is a clean, or unmodified opinion, which is an A grade, the best we can give as auditors.”
The financial statements for the budget year ending June 30, 2017, which accompany the audit report, show the school district’s general operating fund balance grew by $2.3 million from $11.5 million to $13.8 million at the end of June 2017.
The $13.8 million general fund balance includes $4.2 million in funds designated by the board for economic stabilization.
The district has a policy of maintaining an economic stabilization fund of up to 5 percent of budgeted general fund expenses. These funds are held for potential cuts in state funding, disasters, immediate capital needs or other significant events. The economic stabilization fund also maintains the district’s cash flow, according to the audit report.
The general fund balance also includes $3.7 million committed to employee benefit obligations and $5.7 million in funds that are neither restricted nor committed for a specific use.
The audit report notes the district’s net position, the difference between assets and liabilities, at end of June 2017 was $125.8 million, up $12.4 million from 2016.
The bulk of the school district’s net position is in its capital assets, which total $124.4 million, according to the audit report.
The audit report also states that property tax revenue increased in 2017 by 6.8 percent to $42.6 million as a result of an increase in total taxable value of property.