An audit report M
onday night confirmed what the Wayland Board of Education was told by outgoing Finance Director Bill Melching — the fund balance increased by about $680,000 over last year.
The fund balance’s percentage of the general fund budget went from about 7.5% several years ago to 9.76% at the end of fiscal year 2015-16.
So said Corey VanDyke, an accountant with Plante and Moran, the firm that every year performs the audit of the school system.
VanDyke said the audit showed Wayland’s expenditures grew from $26.0 million to $27.8 million in the past year, but a large chunk of that was the result of a board decision to purchase six new school buses now at an advantageous rate to save money in the long run. Otherwise, Wayland schools was have exceeded what is regarded as the state average fund balance (not counting the Detroit Public Schools) of 10%.
Superintendent Norm Taylor said everything is on track to lift the fund balance to 10.29 percent at the end of the next fiscal year. He added that school officials have set a goal of bring the fund balance figure to 12% of the budget in the next several years.
Another striking finding of the audit was that 79 percent of the district’s expenditures is tied directly to salaries and benefits because schools are a people-intensive business. Many Michigan school districts in the 1980s reported as much as 83% tied to salaries and benefits.
VanDyke’s presentation was complemented by Michael Tanksley, currently second in command in the business office.
PHOTO: Michael Tanksley speak to the school board about the audit.
