By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
In December, the Northfield School Board heard the summary of an audit conducted by Clifton Larson and Allen. They found no issues in the budget and that it was a “clean” audit overall. Of the 40 school districts Clifton Larson and Allen conducted audits for this past year, only 8 of them received clean audits, and this is the 6th year in a row that Northfield has received a clean audit. In a statement Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said that: “the audits is exceptional and highlights the district’s strong financial practices and procedures.”
Ben Johnson, who was assigned to Northfield, noted that while the district is projecting a deficit in the future, the fund balance and overall financial situation of the district remain healthy.
The average cost of administration and Support per student in the school district is $1,043 compared to the state average of $1,300. Likewise, the average cost of regular instruction per student was $7,629 compared to the state average of $6,646.
“This is something that we as auditors see as a really good sign of how a district is run because it means you’re spending less of your money on your administration and more of your money on your students.” – Ben Johnson, Auditor for the School District at the 12/9/2024 School Board Meeting
One area of particular interest that Johnson noted is the Northfield Public Schools invests particularly well in its Community Education Fund:
“From my experience, this is your graph that looks the most unique because a lot of times community Ed is what really struggles at the different at different districts where it is really close to negative and trends down significantly. You guys have very healthy fund balances. In your community education.” – Ben Johnson, Auditor for the School District at the 12/9/2024 School Board Meeting
LEARN MORE: In the November edition of Doing Good Things For Kids. talks with the Northfield School District’s Director of Community Education, Erin Bailey, about the hundreds of classes offered to the community through the district’s Community Ed program, as well as the transformation of the old Greenvale Park Elementary School to the Northfield Community Education Center. (Click here to listen)
See the audit report below:
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