Budget and finance panel moves high-school gate receipts into general operating account

The North Kingstown Budget and Finance Advisory Committee voted June 25 to move high school gate receipts from a standalone bank account into the school district—s general operating account, citing reconciliation problems and an audit finding that left roughly $44,339.37 owed back to the general fund.

Committee members said the change is intended to simplify accounting and reduce recurring manual transfers between accounts. Leslie, a business-office staff member who presented the item, told the committee the separate gate-receipts account had created extra entries and reconciliations during recent audits. "I don't know why the decision was made to give Gate Receipt its own bank account, but I actually wouldn't recommend it. I think it makes more sense, just like all of the other enterprise accounts, for that money to be flowing in and out of the operating account," Leslie said.

Leslie explained the $44,339.37 balance was identified during the 2022-23 audit and carried into later reconciliations; the amount represents cash that needs to be moved from the gate-receipts account back into the general fund. "That is because the actual bank account itself is showing, an additional $44,003.39 37 in cash, that needs to be transferred out of the gate receipt account and given back to the general fund bank account," she said. She said the accounting entries had been posted to the general ledger and the physical cash transfer would be made when the fiscal year is closed so the bank account and ledger match.

The committee also discussed GoFan, the district's online ticketing platform. Leslie said the district has begun receiving GoFan notifications for each event and that GoFan deposits will be transmitted via ACH once processes are aligned. She said delays arose because some receipts came as checks that were sent to school staff rather than being routed for electronic deposit.

Members raised compliance questions under NKSC policy JJI, paragraph 6, which requires athletic directors to submit pre- and post-season budgets and reconciliations. A school committee member said the policy's intent is to ensure the superintendent and business office receive clear revenue and expense breakdowns for each sport. Leslie said the business office is tracking expenses in the general ledger but is not always receiving post-season revenue breakdowns directly from the athletic director in the format the policy anticipates.

Leslie made the motion to revert the gate-receipts account into the operating account; the committee voted in favor by voice vote. No roll-call was recorded in the meeting transcript.

The committee directed the business office to proceed with consolidating the accounts and to continue working with school leaders and athletics staff to ensure GoFan deposits and season-by-season revenue reports are provided to the business office for reconciliation.

The vote followed discussion but did not include a recorded roll-call of individual votes. The committee also discussed whether the policy JJI requires revision or stronger enforcement to ensure the athletic director provides revenue reports to the business office.

The district's Finance Director (identified in the meeting as Paul) and committee members said the consolidation should reduce manual transfers and clarify year-end reconciliations.

The committee moved on to other agenda items after the vote.

Ending: The committee's consolidation decision is intended to simplify reconciliations and address an audit-identified cash-transfer issue; staff will carry out the transfer when the fiscal year closes and continue to work with athletics staff to improve reporting and electronic deposit procedures.