Financial picture brightens for Mt. Pleasant Community School District

Editor?s note: State law requires school districts to compile an annual financial report. However, few school districts publish a financial report as comprehensive as the Mt. Pleasant Community School District. Mt. Pleasant?s 108-page report, compiled by Ed Chabal, district director of finance, not only includes financial information from the prior fiscal year, but goes well beyond financial data. The report received a certificate of excellence from the Association of School Business Officials International. Today, The News publishes the first of a two-part series on Mt. Pleasant?s financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012. Today?s installment will be on district finances. The report was distributed to school directors at the Jan. 14 school board meeting and will be on the agenda to be approved during the Feb. 11 board meeting.

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Things are looking up, financially speaking, for the Mt. Pleasant Community School District (MPCSD).

Mt. Pleasant ended fiscal 2012 with total net assets for governmental activities (similar to the general fund) of $14,986,448, or an 18.1 percent increase over the balance of $12,669,931 on June 30, 2011.

Most of the school district?s basic services are included in governmental activities, such as regular and special education, transportation and administration. Local property tax, a local income surtax, state and federal funding comprise the bulk of the revenue in this account.

At the end of fiscal 2012, the district?s unassigned fund balance in the general fund was $1,932,921 or 9.35 percent of the total general fund revenues, compared to the prior fiscal year?s ending balance of $848,823 or 4.27 percent of total general fund revenues.

Taxation (property and income surtax), the statewide sales, services and use tax (SILO) and state grants accounted for 75.54 percent of revenue for governmental activities.

The school district collected $6,502,067 in property tax (up 1.85 percent from fiscal 2011), $9.5 million in state funding and grants, $1.57 million from SILO and $404,296 through the local income surtax for governmental activities.

Operating grants and interest amounted to $3.4 million, $1.77 million was realized through charges for services and the district received $223,488 in federal grants.

In other funds, the physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL) dropped from $40,662 to $27,924, resulting from a decrease in the amount of property tax dollars received as compared to the previous year.

The debt service fund balance increased from $818,385 to $832,137. The reason for the increase was the reduction in interest income the district was paying on long-term debt.

Although MPCD received less in federal grant funding for the hot lunch program, an increase in meal prices coupled with a decrease in expenditures led to a 24.7 percent increase in the hot lunch fund balance from $209,028 to $260,623.

Mt. Pleasant?s management levy showed a fund balance increase of $109,679 during fiscal 2012, ending with a balance of $222,295. The student activity fund increased by $5,658 to $105,127.

At the conclusion of the fiscal year, the district?s long-term debt was $10,809,245, a decrease of over a million dollars from the prior fiscal year.

Mt. Pleasant ended the 2012 fiscal year with a total balance of $5,189,085 in all funds (general, capital projects, debt service, etc.), an increase of $1,487,385 over the $3,701,700 beginning fund balance on July 1, 2011.

On the other side of the ledger, of the district?s $21.5 million expenditures for governmental activities, instruction (largely salaries of faculty members) took the largest chunk at $14,160,410. However, that was a decrease of over $100,000 from the $14,227,774 spent in fiscal 2011. Administration services (again salaries of administrators are included in this line item) were at $2,413,853, an increase of nearly $300,000 from the $2,126,717 spent in fiscal 2011.

The district spent $1.6 million in costs for operation and maintenance (utility, telephone, technology costs).

Taking into account all funds, the district collected $8,490,420 in local property tax and income surtax revenue. The total state funding in all funds was $11,818,132 and total federal government revenue was $1,269,797. Mt. Pleasant also received $1,326,814 in tuition revenue.

The final part of the series will focus on demographics.