Attendance still trending lower than budgeted
All is fine on the financial front for Sulphur Bluff ISD, according to their audit report for the 2020-2021 school year delivered by Lanny Walker with Arnold, Walker and Arnold.
“When I first started working at this firm in 1979, I think we were doing Sulphur Bluff way back then,” Walker said. “We’ve been doing your audit for a long time.”
Walker reported no weaknesses in the district’s financial position, and he noted that although revenue had fallen slightly by $17,000, the district’s total expenditures had dropped by $65,000. The general fund balance, the financial cushion of a district, also increased.
Seeing that attendance is hovering around 181 at the time of the meeting, Carr said the cushion might be needed. The district had budgeted around a 204 attendance but have so far been below that. A majority of a Texas district’s funding is based on attendance.
Overall, however, Walker was pleased with the audit and complimented the business office.
“Janice [Teer] and the ladies up there do a good job taking care of this for you,” Walker said.
In the elementary principal’s report, beginning-of-the-year tests had been administered to create a baseline for student support, and over 80% of the Pre-K class were on target to learn all of their needed skills. However, some other grades had a large number well below the benchmark, something Carr attributed to the test’s earliness and an artifact of the COVID slide.
“Hopefully when we look at the middle-of-the-year and end-of-the-year, we’ll see some really good growth,” Carr said.
In action items, the board approved the District Improvement Plan, which had been updated since last adoption. It takes into account the district’s new blended learning, efforts to close gaps and improve student growth and more. The plan also adds back community outreach aspects, which had previously been left out due to COVID-19 concerns.
Events like the recent Community Thanksgiving Lunch are an example of the district opening its campus to the community more and more, and Carr hoped to do similar events in the future.
“That’s what’s great about this community and Sulphur Bluff, seeing how much community involvement we have,” Carr said. “It is good to see everybody back.”
The board also approved a waiver for a summer feeding program, citing the district’s small size and transportation issues.
The board also appointed Barbara Stewart as their Hopkins County Appraisal District representative and cast votes for candidates for the Board of Directors of the Franklin County Appraisal District.