Audit: Brownwood ISD receives clean opinion but fund balance falls to about $477,000

Cameron Aaron, the audit manager for the district's external auditor, told the Brownwood Independent School District Board of Trustees that the district's 2023–24 financial statements received an unmodified opinion and that auditors did not identify material weaknesses or internal control deficiencies.

Aaron said the district met federal single-audit thresholds and that auditors tested the child nutrition cluster (fund 240) without finding compliance issues. He summarized: “The type of auditors report issued is an unmodified opinion … that’s essentially saying that it’s a clean, it’s a clean opinion.”

The audit presentation also reported the district's general fund ending fund balance at about $477,000 for the year ended Aug. 31, 2024, against roughly $38.9 million in total expenditures. The auditor noted that financial statement users and the Texas Education Agency will consider how long that level of fund balance will carry into the next fiscal year; the auditor said two to six months of fund balance is common practice and the district's level is below that range.

Board members and staff discussed declines in average daily attendance (ADA) since the COVID period and the impact on state funding. District staff said ADA had been closer to 97–98% pre-COVID and fell in recent years; reduced ADA and property tax changes were identified as contributors to lower revenues. The board agreed to monitor expenditures and federal funding opportunities to offset general fund pressures.

After the presentation, Mr. Jones moved and Mr. Ramos seconded a motion to approve the 2023–24 financial audit as presented; the board president called the vote and said the motion passed unanimously.