Audit finds Stillwater Area Public Schools’ financial reports in order

Independent financial auditors have given the Stillwater Area Public School District a “clean” or  unmodified opinion on its annual audit of basic financial statements.

The 2020-2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, upon which the annual audit is based, showed no deficiencies in the district’s internal control over financial reporting that was considered to be material weaknesses. The results of the auditor testing disclosed no instances of noncompliance required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. The audit was conducted by the auditing firm CliftonLarsonAllen LLP.  

School districts, charter schools, and educational cooperatives are required to have an annual independent financial audit.  The audit and the financial statements included in the audit must be based on Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, the federal Single Audit Act, and the Minnesota Legal Compliance Guide issued by the Office of the State Auditor.  Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.77, requires reporting entities to submit audited financial data to the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education and to the Office of the State Auditor

Overall, expenditures during the last school year exceeded revenue by about $6 million due to an increase in salaries and benefits, technology to support distance/hybrid learning and other COVID-related expenses. The district was the last in the state to settle employee contracts, which resulted in both years of the two-year contract being paid out as part of last year’s fiscal budget. 

The district closed the books with an unassigned fund balance totaling $4.4 million with a Capital Outlay fund  balance in excess of $6.4 million.

View the complete financial report