Committee accepts audit showing $2.68 million underspend; reconciliations and timelines ordered
Summary
The Finance & Facilities committee accepted the district audit after hearing that the district underspent $2,680,000; staff outlined reconciliation steps in Skyward, improved monthly bank reconciliations, and a plan to meet DPI reporting deadlines.
The Finance & Facilities committee for the Manitowoc Public School District voted to accept the district audit after staff reported the district underspent $2,680,000 for the year, reversing an earlier projection of roughly a $1,000,000 shortfall.
Speaker 3, who presented the audit summary, said the auditors had required a larger-than-usual number of year-end journal entries and that staff will complete reconciliations through December in Skyward to reduce future adjustments. "By doing the reconciliations, the bank reconciliations every month, their belief is by doing that, we're going to be able to significantly decrease the number of journal entries that the auditors are gonna offer," Speaker 3 said.
The presenter pointed to forecasting errors, notably mismatches in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement estimates, and told the committee the district will adopt better historic-review practices to align revenue projections with what state and federal funding actually arrive. Speaker 3 noted a roughly $980,000 variance in state and federal revenue and cited corrections to budgeting assumptions as key steps forward.
Speaker 1 requested a motion to accept the auditor's report; the committee moved, seconded and approved the report by voice vote. Committee members asked that staff provide timely DPI reporting in future years and that monthly reconciliations be completed to avoid repeat year-end adjustments.
The committee did not take further action beyond accepting the audit; staff outlined follow-up tasks and a reconciliation timeline for January and ongoing monthly work.
