West Oso ISD board accepts audit but trustees press administration on falling fund balance
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Summary
Trustees voted 5-0 to accept the districtd annual financial audit but pressed staff on an approximate $1.48 million general-fund balance and an overspend of roughly $1.6 million this year; the board scheduled a March 17 deep-dive to identify potential cuts and near-term steps.
The West Oso Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept the districtd annual financial audit after a presentation by the districtd auditor Wednesday evening.
"In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly in all material respects," auditor LaVerne Kishnick told trustees during a detailed walkthrough of the independent auditord report, highlighting the districtd investment in capital assets and the accounting treatment for pension and OPEB liabilities.
Board members focused questions on the districtd general fund balance and year-to-year trends. One trustee recounted past balances and said the fund balance had fallen from prior-year highs to roughly $1.48 million this year, calling the decline "a big decrease." The auditor and finance staff confirmed the districtd ended the year with a positive change in net position overall but explained the general fund had been drawn down because expenditures exceeded revenues by about $1.6 million compared with the final amended budget.
Olga Mendez, the districtd finance presenter, told trustees the variances were concentrated in instructional and instruction-related services and said state pension (TRS) and TRS-Care OPEB allocations materially affect the districtd unrestricted net position.
Trustees asked for more detail on the budget and requested a strategic roundtable on March 17 to identify potential cuts and steps to "turn the tide," including clearer presentation of the districtd costs related to teacher raises and the districtd portion of retirement contributions.
A motion by Liz Gutierrez to accept the audit, seconded by Shirley Jordan, passed 5-0. The board recorded the vote and directed administration to provide the deeper budget analysis and follow-up materials at the March 17 session.
What happens next: trustees scheduled the March 17 budget roundtable to drill into the expenditure categories that drove this yeard overspending and to develop options for restoring the general fund balance.
(Reporting notes: direct auditor conclusion quoted from the auditord presentation. Where transcript numbers were ambiguous in places, the article uses the figures trustees cited at the meeting and flags the March 17 session as the venue for reconciled detail.)
