The Royal Oak Schools district got a top grade in its latest independent audit, school officials say.
The audit was done by Yeo & Yeo CPAs and Business Consultants for the fiscal year ending in June.
“Our audit found Royal Oak Schools financial records and statements are fairly and appropriately presented and in association with account principles generally accepted” in the U.S, said Mike Rolka, an auditor with the Yeo & Yeo, in a statement.
No adverse findings were shown in the audit, which gave the school district an “unmodified opinion” or the highest level of assurance, which Rolka said is equal to a grade of A+.
Royal Oak Schools officials made the announcement this week. Yeo & Yeo has nine offices in Michigan and is headquartered in Saginaw.
“I am very proud of the hard work on being fiscally responsible stewards of the funds in Royal Oak Schools, all led by Kathy Abela, our Executive Director for Finance and Operations,” said Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick in a statement. “Having strong internal controls in place, and having the cooperation of our entire staff makes it possible for us to obtain the highest rating.”
Abela said the audit rating was thanks to all staff and departments following the district’s internal controls.
“It takes each staff member every day, each timesheet, and reimbursement, in order to receive such a wonderful audit and the grade that the district received,” Abela said in a statement.
In a district financial overview statement audited by Yeo & Yeo – that Fitzpatrick and Abela sent to the district’s Board of Education in late August – it was noted that Royal Oak Schools district has seen significant declines in enrollment as the demographics have changed in the community.
Royal Oak Schools saw a decrease in student enrollment of about 221 pupils, mostly due to a change in the calculation method, during the 2021-22 school year.
The district gets the lion’s share of its funding from the state.
“From a local district’s perspective, the school funding system instituted following the passage of proposal A in 1994 has not lived up to its promise of adequately funding public education,” said the administrators’ report. “Over time, increases in the per-pupil foundation allowance have not kept pace with inflation. In many of those years, money promised and committed to local school districts has been taken away mid-year by the State of Michigan due to insufficient state revenue and the inability of state lawmakers to make the necessary structural changes in the state budget.”
