An expected, but welcome, sigh of relief came for the Trigg County School Board during Thursday night’s meeting, when Kelsey Cox — senior accountant and CPA for Duguid, Gentry & Associates — delivered a “clean audit” message for the 2020 fiscal year.
Cox noted the school’s total assets came to $41 million, mostly in cash and capital assets, and that liabilities rolled in at nearly $30 million, most of which could be described as bonds payable.
This created a total net position of nearly $11.4 million, which the district’s Chief Finance Officer Holly Greene described as not necessarily one lump sum of cash — but instead a financial profile that consists of things like the school’s general fund, Fund II and construction accounts for these new, ongoing improvements. It’s also based on capital assets and other post-employment benefits (called OPEB), or in layman’s terms a safety net to pay retirements should the state pension system fail.
That total net position, Greene added, is closer to $7.4 million for 2020 and comes as carry forward from previous fiscal years, cash, receivables and accrued sick leave.
Cox also noted total revenues for the 2020 fiscal year came to $25.8 million, while total expenditures exceeded $31.6 million, with a total fund balance holding at $10.4 million.
With no long-term debt obligations at this time, Cox noted the district didn’t enter into any new debt during the 2020 fiscal campaign while paying off more than $840K in previous debt. She said a debt of more than $855K will be owed in this next fiscal year, but that 2020’s budget was nearly perfect.
Also during the meeting, the board heard from teacher Ann Bottoms and student Taziah Cavanaugh regarding a possible fundraising effort for the school’s club in Educators Rising — in which the club’s nine members would pair off with faculty inside the district’s main office and school board to learn about their jobs before participating in a “Board Walk.”
With the walk, perhaps in the square-shaped high school, Bottoms said participants would seek sponsorship based on the number of laps walked — say, a dollar per lap, or $10 for five laps, or whatever a sponsor possibly offers.
The money raised, Cavanaugh and Bottoms said, would help with travel expenses for regional competitions at Murray State University, and an upcoming state convention next March in Louisville.
The club is also currently working on becoming nationally affiliated, which requires a great number of community hours and activities as an organization.
Established nationally in 1937, Educators Rising first started as the Future Educators Organization and is specifically designed to keep and maintain the interest of young students pursuing a career in teaching. The national organization remains dedicated to supporting high school students who want to develop skills in education-related professions.
