The Winslow Unified School District ended fiscal year 2023-2024 with a significant improvement in its financial position, according to an audit presented to the governing board. The annual financial audit, conducted by CWDL Certified Public Accountants, found the district’s total net position increased by approximately $5.1 million, reaching $38.4 million as of June 30, 2024. This audit was the topic of serious discussion at last week’s school board meeting.
The district’s total assets rose to approximately $53.5 million, up by $4.6 million from the previous fiscal year, driven largely by capital asset acquisitions such as building improvements and equipment purchases. Capital assets alone grew by nearly $1.9 million, ending the fiscal year at approximately $27.2 million. Liabilities and deferred inflows totaled $17.1 million, marking a decrease from the previous year’s $18.1 million, primarily due to reductions in accounts payable and other short-term obligations.
At year’s end, the district held $20.2 million in unassigned funds within its general fund, representing roughly 114% of its general expenditures. The combined ending balances for all governmental funds stood at approximately $25.4 million, reflecting an increase of $3.7 million compared to fiscal year 2023. The audit indicated that conservative spending strategies, combined with increases in state and federal funding, were significant factors behind this improvement.
However, the auditors also identified several areas where compliance issues arose during the year. These findings, detailed in a Uniform System of Financial Records Compliance Questionnaire, included improper coding of expenditures, untimely bank deposits, inadequate inventory controls, and weaknesses in payroll management such as missing background check documentation and expired fingerprint clearance cards.
Significant deficiencies were noted in the district’s information technology practices, including the absence of annual IT risk assessments and insufficient training for employees on IT security procedures. Auditors recommended implementing regular IT audits, developing comprehensive technology use policies, and providing periodic training sessions to address these gaps.
Additional issues were found concerning procurement practices. Auditors observed instances where lower quotes for purchases were overlooked without adequate documentation supporting the choice of higher-priced alternatives. Sole-source procurements lacked necessary documentation and board approvals, leading auditors to advise more rigorous oversight to ensure transparency and compliance.
The district’s student attendance reporting also has some issues reported. Errors were noted in accurately calculating partial-day absences for elementary, junior high and high school students, alongside missing attendance documentation. The auditors emphasized the importance of accurate attendance records for state funding compliance.
The audit covered the district finances ending in June 2024 and Business Manager Casey Hancock said that a lot of the smaller issues in the audit were already solved during this school year. Hancock also told the board that for many of the items that say certain things are missing from the district’s procedures are still being done by employees but was never written down. As an example, he noted that if a certain software update needed to be made to ensure compliance, sometimes the IT director would go ahead and make the update without a work order being submitted, so there was no paper trail for the auditors to know the update had been made.
Hancock summarized the findings to the board, “Just some procedure changes, nothing too crazy.”
The audit report found no material weaknesses in the district’s internal financial controls, indicating generally effective management of financial operations. However, the noted significant deficiencies were flagged as needing attention to prevent potential compliance issues in future audits.
The auditors provided a corrective action plan, which district officials are expected to follow to address the noted deficiencies.
In other business, the board:
* Approved Ratification List 948 in the amount of nearly $1.6 million.
* Approved 42 policy updates (policies 816-862) in alignment with the Arizona School Boards Association recommendations that streamlines similar policies and added clarification in the policy to “effective board governance” it does not make significant changes to the function or intent of the policies.
* Approved the hiring of Stephanie Castueras as a preschool teacher (upon certification) and David Youngberg as a substitute.
* Approved the resignations of Marie Putnam, an academic coach, and Pearl Cisneros, high needs paraprofessional.
* Approved a retire-return to work request for Ernestine Mora, bus driver.
* Approved transferring Carmelita James from substitute to high needs paraprofessional and Devin Bard from district maintenance to Bonnie Brennan Elementary School maintenance.
* Approved an extra duty pay for Jerron Jordan for the boys varsity basketball coach.
* Approved the following student fundraisers: Class of 2028, Gatorade sales at graduation; student council, water sales at graduation; Art Club, empty bowls fundraiser and Spirit Line for track concessions.
*Approved a change of course name at Winslow Junior High School from Career Tech to Career Exploration.
* Approved a restructuring of Spirit Line so that instead of being separated from cheer, the programs will now be combined.
*Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) for Winslow High School students to participate in NAVIT classes.
The next meeting of the WUSD school board will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, in the meeting room, located at 800 N. Apache Ave.
