Shelby County schools report $5 million surplus, federal grant spending and capital investments in audit briefing

District finance staff and the auditor briefed the Shelby County Board of Education on multiple financial metrics and the audited financial statements. Speaker 5, who presented the financial highlights, told the board that ‘‘our revenues did exceed our expenditures by about 5,000,000.’’ The presentation said the district’s committed fund balance remains $1,800,000 and that roughly $10,700,000 was spent from federal grants during the past year, with about $2,100,000 (about 19%) coming from COVID-relief grants.

An auditor presented an unmodified opinion letter on the audit, noting no material findings that would change the opinion. Board members thanked the auditors for their work and said there were ‘‘no surprises.’’ Speaker 5 also highlighted that capital assets increased by $3,400,000 year over year and that future lease-payment obligations (including fleet vehicles and an Apple device lease) are disclosed in the notes to the audited financial statements.

Board members asked about the district’s bond and refunding outlook in light of changing market rates. Speaker 5 said the district’s fiscal agent partner (RSA) monitors the municipal market and will bring refunding options forward when it is financially advantageous, which could expand the district’s bond capacity if interest rates decline. The presenter also attributed some of the positive fund-balance variance to staff turnover and the prior availability of COVID grants, which temporarily displaced general-fund expenditures.

The presentation closed with an invitation for questions; board members asked clarifying questions about contingency levels and construction funding. The audit and financial highlights were then accepted as presented.