Owatonna schools receive clean audit; district spending up, fund balances remain healthy
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Summary
Auditor CLA told the Owatonna Public School District board on Dec. 8 that it issued a clean audit opinion with no findings, including on federal program testing. District revenues and expenses rose year over year, with most spending directed to instruction and a modest drawdown in unassigned fund balance.
The Owatonna Public School District heard a clean audit report from CLA on Dec. 8, with CLA principal Luke Bridal telling the school board the firm was issuing "a clean audit opinion" and found no material misstatements or compliance findings in the financial statements.
Bridal said the audit covered both financial reporting and compliance checks required by Minnesota law and government auditing standards, and that the district’s single-audit testing of federal programs — including the child nutrition and Title I programs — produced no findings. "Essentially as clean of an audit as you can have," Bridal said.
The presentation included financial detail: general fund revenue of about $78.6 million, with roughly 79% coming from the state; federal revenue made up about 3.5% (approximately $2.83 million). General fund expenditures were roughly $80.6 million, with 84% of spending directed to instruction; Bridal broke that down as roughly 44% to regular instruction and 22% to special education.
Bridal told the board the district’s unassigned general fund balance decreased by about $1.4 million year over year to about $9.7 million. He explained other fund-balance categories, noting assigned and committed amounts and that a committed allocation had been set aside for the career pathways program. Restricted fund balances (state-earmarked programs and other restricted dollars) were about $4.0 million, which included a long-term facilities maintenance (LTFM) component that had fallen as projects expended prior reserves.
Board members on the finance committee praised the work of administration and CLA. A committee member said the committee had an opportunity to hear the presentation and "we're pleased with the results." In a brief question-and-answer exchange, a board member asked about comparative ADM declines in other districts; Bridal said some smaller districts he works with have seen annual declines of 20–50 students in recent years, noting the sensitivity of state funding to enrollment changes.
The board moved and approved the audit for the year ended June 30, 2025. Administration and CLA said they would complete any remaining procedural steps associated with the report.
The audit presentation and follow-up discussion lasted through the early portion of the board’s agenda; the board then continued with other business, including informational items and later a Truth in Taxation hearing.