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Crook County School Board accepts clean audit as administrators warn of enrollment dip
Summary
The Crook County School District board accepted an independent audit that reported no findings and reviewed a revised budget after administrators flagged a roughly 4–5% enrollment decline that could reduce state revenue in future years.
The Crook County School District board on Tuesday accepted its audited financial statements for fiscal 2023–24 after district staff said an independent audit found no issues and outlined a revised budget that incorporates a $630,000 supplemental appropriation.
Anna, the district finance lead, told the board the district’s average daily membership (ADM) — the state measure of enrollment that determines state funding — has slipped about 4–5% below budget. "Enrollment has dropped just a tiny bit each month, and we're now 5% under budget for enrollment," Anna said, noting ADM drives revenue and is a key assumption in next year’s budget. The district said a state mechanism will preserve prior‑year ADM revenue for the current year but warned continued declines would reduce funding in subsequent budgets.
Anna walked the board through a revised budget column resulting from a supplemental budget adopted last month. That supplemental added roughly $630,000 to expenses; staff said the planned deficit uses one‑time rolled‑forward funds and still projects about $2 million to roll forward into next year. "So this is not something that is a cause for concern when you're just looking at this," Anna said, describing the deficit as a planned use of one‑time money.
Board members then reviewed the audit presentation. Anna summarized the auditor’s blue and yellow pages — the blue pages reflecting the district’s internal financial statements and the yellow pages showing how governmental accounting reports longer‑term liabilities such as pension obligations. "Our audit found no issues," Anna said. "That's pretty rare." She said the auditor’s report and letters have been posted on the district site, and paper copies were available on request.
A board member moved to approve the audited financial report. The motion passed by voice vote.
What’s next: staff said they would continue to watch enrollment trends, drill down on exit codes for students who left since September, and report back to the board if the downward trend persists. The board also heard that ODE has announced a new stipend grant for qualifying special‑education staff; the district expects the grant will pay stipends but not associated payroll taxes, which the district would need to cover from general fund resources.
The board is scheduled to review budget development timelines during upcoming work sessions.
