Board approves budget adjustments after audit brief; district reports $5.4M unassigned fund balance and Aetna refund
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Summary
The board received a finance update including audit status and approved targeted budget amendments; staff reported a $5.4 million unassigned general‑fund balance, a $1.7 million balance in the employee‑benefit fund tied partly to an Aetna refund, and plans for further audit completion pending federal documents.
Uinta County School District #1 staff presented district finance and audit updates and the board approved several budget adjustments after a public hearing.
Key figures presented
Business manager John (name as given in the meeting) told trustees the district’s general fund holds approximately $5.4 million in unassigned fund balance (about 11.9% of roughly $45 million in expenditures). The employee‑benefit fund showed an unrestricted balance of about $1.7 million, a figure the staff attributed partly to a recent refund from insurer Aetna.
John said Aetna issued the district a refund check of about $514,000 for the plan year; the refund will be allocated proportionally to employees, retirees and the district’s employee‑benefit fund in line with premium shares and applicable taxes. Staff noted the refund reduced the net impact of earlier increases the board approved for health insurance costs.
Audit status and findings
The district’s auditors told the board that a nationwide federal compliance document had not yet been released (a federal‑level delay unrelated to the district), so parts of the audit remained incomplete; auditors expect to finish by December if the federal documents arrive. A preliminary audit flagged a small net error rate (approximately 0.4% of audited items). The auditor identified several reconcilable items (reporting of teacher/administrator data, career/technical education course coding and a bookkeeping coding error for out‑of‑state tuition) that the district will correct; staff said the finalized audit would be forthcoming.
Budget amendments and public hearing
At the public hearing, staff recommended modest adjustments to general fund line items and to special‑revenue and employee‑benefit funds to reflect realized gains, proceeds from disposition of assets and transfers (including an $86,000 transfer for major maintenance to food service). Trustees voted to adopt the budget adjustments as presented.
Ending
Board members asked follow‑up questions about audit timing and the district’s reconciliation process; staff said they would return with the finalized auditor report when federal compliance documentation is available.