The local school district’s financial report passed with flying colors according to USD 257’s annual audit.
Neil Phillips, CPA with Jarred Gilmore & Phillips, walked school board members through the report at their meeting Monday evening.
Phillips noted the district earned an unmodified or “clean” opinion under the regulatory accounting basis required by the Kansas Department of Education.
It’s an important distinction, he said, noting “no further modifications are needed.”
According to the audit, the district began the fiscal year with $7.9 million in unencumbered cash. Ending the year, the unencumbered cash balance increased to $8.7 million, “which shows that you’re financially stable,” Phillips said.
As far as long-term debt, Phillips said the district paid down its bonds by $690,000 over the last year.
IN OTHER NEWS, the board renewed the district’s Early Resignation and Retirement Incentive Policy. The district provides a financial bonus for teachers who give early notification of resignation or retirement. Superintendent Stacey Fager said the plan continues to help the district plan staffing more efficiently.
“I would say this incentive policy has served the district well,” Fager said. He noted that the updated dates in the policy — Dec. 18, Jan. 3, and Feb. 20 — were selected to align with board meetings and allow time to prepare personnel documentation. “This puts the district in the best possible situation to try to get qualified applicants in for vacancies,” he said.
In his report, board member Dan Willis shared updates from a recent meeting he had with Superintendent Fager, Director of Operations Aaron Cole and the City of Iola concerning athletic fields. “The city knows about the RFP (Request For Proposal), and they were curious what water retention could be put into the football field if we did something,” Willis said.
The district has been in talks about collaborating with Allen Community College on a project that could benefit both the schools’ athletic offerings. The talks picked up from where the school district and Iola Council members in 2023 discussed implementing flood control measures in Riverside Park as well as installing artificial turf at the stadium.
The talks with the city, however, were discontinued when a hoped-for federal grant did not come to pass.
Willis explained that Mammoth Sports Construction’s previous study of the site, that has been paid for, had not been completed entirely. “The final 10 percent deliverables never got done and that’s something Aaron needs to have to do the RFP,” Willis said. Fager pointed out that Cole had talked with Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock and learned that Mammoth is currently working on getting the study finalized. “They’re hopeful by midweek this week to get that,” said Fager.
