The Deptford board of education’s Business Administrator, Ronald Latham Jr., spelled out details of the report at a Feb. 11 board meeting.
The township board of education’s business administrator presented the audit report for the 2023-’24 school year during the board’s meeting on Feb. 11.
Ronald Latham Jr. used a slideshow to explain general fund revenues and expenditures during the fiscal year, which ended on June 30, and compared them with the amounts in 2022 and ’23.
“Each year, we look at it side by side over three years,” Latham explained. “The tax levy went up by 2%. From 2022 to 2024, it has increased. Tuition fluctuates from here. In 2024, we had $382,000 audited. That is out-of-district tuition that we get a percentage back on in our district if it meets certain criteria. It went up significantly over the 2023-’24 school year.”
Income from federal sources decreased from $138,116 to $94,710 in 2023, due to the loss of COVID funds. At the same time though, the district got a $4-million increase in state funds when compared with last year.
District expenditures, meanwhile, have increased from about $88 million in 2023 to $96 million in 2024. The three largest were the result of unallocated benefits, support services and expenses for regular instruction.
“Our expenditures have increased because the cost of living has increased,” Latham said. “The cost of benefits has increased and the costs of services (has increased). You can see straight down the line that basically every single line has increased.”
Latham then presented the board with a number of findings and recommendations, including monitoring purchase orders for the 2025 fiscal year to avoid over-spending; updating routing software for verification of work papers; a cafeteria project to address food service net cash resources exceeding three months’ average expenditure; working with special services to match grant reimbursement with documentation of an out-of-district report; and reviewing lunchtime and Genesis software to make sure documentations line up with reports.
After the presentation was over, the board unanimously voted to accept the report and its recommendations and the corrective action plan related to the audit.
At the next meeting of the school board – scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18 – a preliminary budget will be submitted, not to be voted on, but for the board to review and vote on approval in May.
