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Venus ISD board approves annual financial audit; district retains roughly 5 months of reserves
Summary
The Venus ISD Board approved the district's annual financial audit after a presentation from auditor Carl Deaton, who reported a roughly $11.9 million general fund balance (about 5.3 months of expenditures), final ESSER spending and $4.6 million in federal grant dollars. The motion carried on a voice vote.
The Venus ISD Board of Trustees on Jan. 13 approved the district's annual financial audit following a presentation by auditor Carl Deaton.
Deaton told the board the independent auditor's report issued an unmodified (clean) opinion and that the district recorded about $27 million in revenues and just over $27 million in expenditures in the general fund for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. He said the district ended the year with about $11.9 million in general fund balance, which he calculated as roughly 5.3 months of last year's expenditures.
The auditor said the board had adopted a budget for 2024-25 that initially projected using about $356,000 of fund balance; after setting aside that signed amount the unassigned fund balance was about $11.5 million (around 5.2 months). Deaton said the Texas Education Agency guidance currently recommends a minimum of two months of reserves, while auditors typically advise a three-month minimum.
Deaton highlighted other funds: the child nutrition fund showed a $54,000 loss this year after purchases of equipment intended to reduce a prior-year reserve above the state target; ESSER federal pandemic-related spending has concluded; and the district recorded about $4.6 million in federal award dollars for the year, covering Title, special education, ESSER and other federal programs. He also noted the district recovered about $239,000 in indirect costs from federal grants, money that can be transferred to the general fund to help offset grant administration costs.
On debt service, Deaton said the district used nearly $2 million of reserves last year to prepay one older bond series and still retained about $1.3 million of debt-service reserves. He pointed to investment income of roughly $860,000 on about $13.5 million of cash and investments (a roughly 6% return), which boosted several funds.
Deaton summarized the combined (government-wide) statement, noting the district's net position was about $23 million and that consolidated revenues and expenses changed little from the prior year.
After the presentation, the board moved and approved the audit. "These are not our financial statements, they are your financial statements," Deaton said during the presentation, and he described the auditor's opinion as unmodified.
The motion to approve the annual financial audit was made by Amber, seconded by Kirby, and carried on a voice vote of the board.
Less-critical details from the audit report include the schedule of property tax levy and collections (the district levied nearly $8 million and collected about 96.5% last year) and the federal awards schedule listing grant-level spending and compliance work.
The district will file the audit with the Texas Education Agency by the upcoming deadline, per Deaton's presentation.
