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Auditor: Mustang schools show healthy carryover but note accounting qualification
Summary
Auditor Chris Gullickson reported a generally positive audit for Mustang Public Schools with a qualified presentation related to fixed-asset depreciation, no material findings in internal control or federal program testing, and a stronger carryover balance compared with the prior year.
Chris Gullickson, the district auditor, presented the annual audit to the Mustang Public Schools Board on March 30, saying the financial statements are materially presented but include one qualification related to how fixed assets are recorded.
Gullickson told the board the audit included three standard reports: an independent auditor’s opinion on the financial statements, a report on internal control, and a report on federal programs. He said the district received a qualified opinion because the district’s presentation does not show a depreciated fixed-asset number on the balance sheet in the format the state prescribes. “We issued a qualified opinion on those financial statements,” Gullickson said, noting this exception is common among Oklahoma districts.
The auditor said there were no material findings in the internal-control report and no findings for the federal programs tested (Title I and child nutrition for the year audited). Key figures Gullickson cited included general fund revenue of about $128,000,000 and expenditures near $123,000,000, producing a carryover balance that rose from about $12,000,000 in FY24 to roughly $17,000,000 in FY25. He described the carryover as roughly 13.5% of last year’s revenue and said that range is healthy for districts.
Gullickson also highlighted other fund balances: a building fund of just over $6,000,000, insurance-recovery funds near $22,000,000 from prior storm damage, and activity fund subaccounts totaling about $3,800,000. He noted federal revenues of roughly $99,800,000 and federal expenditures around $9,400,000 were reported in the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards and explained timing differences related to reimbursement-based programs.
On controls and compliance, Gullickson recommended continued vigilance on higher-risk areas such as activity-fund cash handling and travel expenditures, and he flagged timesheet timing discrepancies that district staff had already brought to the CFO’s attention. He advised maintaining documentation (itemized receipts, rosters) to support travel and activity transactions. “Continue to enforce those policies and procedures,” he said.
The board asked follow-up questions and the auditor answered that some internal processes have been tightened and that the few coding variances found in state submissions were small and could require explanation but were not material.
The board received the audit and had no immediate motion tied to additional action beyond the presentation.
