Independent auditors give District 186 a clean opinion; business office outlines state-payment shortfall and capital balances

External auditors from the accounting firm Wipfli presented Springfield Public Schools District 186’s FY24 audit and issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the district’s basic financial statements.

Scott Denzer, partner in Wipfli’s government assurance practice, summarized the annual comprehensive financial report. He highlighted the management’s discussion and analysis section as the best single-place overview, and said the district’s government-wide net position increased to roughly $54 million at June 30, 2024. Denzer noted the district’s June 30 fund-balance position across funds of about $184 million on roughly $400 million in expenditures (a roughly 45% equity-to-expenditure ratio at year-end), and said that this ratio tends to be higher in June because receipts and early taxes raise balances at fiscal year-end.

Denzer warned that COVID-era ESSER (federal pandemic) funds are winding down and that inflationary pressures remain a factor in districts’ operating costs. He also reviewed pension disclosures required for Illinois school districts, including references to the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) allocation and the large state-level liability associated with TRS; he described IMRF as well-funded relative to other plans.

Separately, Director Miller (business/finance) reported outstanding state payments of $593,448 as of Feb. 28, 2025, including $25,000 due to other state programs and $568,448 due to special projects (notably early childhood block grant funding). The capital projects fund roll-forward (to Jan. 31, 2025) showed a beginning investment balance of $59,341,546.63, $284,156.39 in investment income, bond draws and expenditures of $2,113,453.22, and an ending balance of $57,512,249.80. He reported $1,233,416 in sales-tax receipts for January (October reporting period) and noted two principal bond payments due this year (June and December), including a June payment projected at $9,276,919 and an anticipated surplus above required savings after that payment.

Denzer told trustees Wipfli issued no audit findings requiring formal board action in the financial-statement audit; additional required communications and internal-control commentary were provided to the board in a separate management letter. The auditors encouraged continued monitoring of long-term pension exposures and attention to post-ESSER budget planning.

No formal board action on the audit was recorded at the meeting beyond the presentation; trustees asked clarifying questions and thanked the business office and audit team for their work.