Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge Independent School District had a good year, according to the annual financial audit presented during Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting.

Auditor Michael Hamby, whose firm Merritt, McLane & Hamby P.C performs audits on government entities and nonprofit organizations, said they found no issue during the audit of BISD’s 2016-2017 financials.

“Really a very good report overall in all aspects. It was a good report, good year,” Hamby said.

Reading from the auditor’s opinion in the report, Hamby told board members it showed no issues.

“That represents a clean or unqualified audit opinion, which is what you want and hope for, and what you got,” he said.

Hamby then hit on a few highlights from the audit as he walked trustees through the report.

Looking at the Statement of Net Position, he said one of the main things they look for is liquidity. They hope to see current assets to current liabilities ratios of 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 or better. He said BISD was at 8.7 to 1, which is a very strong financial position.

Under Net Investment in Capital Assets, he said, they want to see a positive number.  The reason they look at that is because long-term assets, such as building and equipment, are often are paid for with long-term debt. He said as the debts are paid down and the assets depreciate, they want to make sure the assets are worth more than the debt that is owed on them. He said BISD is at $7.2 million and there are no issues or problems.

Next, under Statements of Activities, he discussed the Change in Net Position, which he said is a positive  $155,000. He said it’s good for that to be positive number, but often times that number won’t be positive. But, he said this year it is, and that’s very good.

Under the General Fund and Fund Balance, he said, BISD ended with $4,864,594, which is good and an increase of almost $1.5 million. He said they also found no issues with internal controls or compliance with federal funds.

Other Business
During the meeting, the trustees also voted to approve the purchase of classroom furniture for the different campuses in the district from Indeco Sales for $120,000.

BISD Superintendent Tim Seymore said the furniture being purchased is for things like desk chairs and tables. He said they budgeted a certain amount of funds for each grade level, and then let the principals at each campus determine what types of furniture they needed to purchase. He said that by ordering the furniture using one vendor and purchasing all the same brand of furniture, the district was able to get a 55 percent discount off list price and free shipping and installation.

Also during the meeting, the Student of the Month awards were presented, and the board heard a report from Callie Stenson, the Breckenridge High School theater arts teacher, and two of her students, Elyssa Glick and Braxton Post, about changes in the department this year.

Additionally, Trustees confirmed that all current board members have met or exceeded all required training hours. They also made a required public presentation of the superintendent’s employee contract for anyone who wanted to view it at the meeting.

Dress Code Committee update
During his Superintendent’s Report to the board, Seymore gave an update on the progress of the committee that is working on updating the BISD dress code. He said the committee will work with Breckenridge High School Principal Bryan Dieterich and Junior High Principal Mich Etzel during the spring semester to go through the dress code. He said they will look at items that can be deleted or modified in the dress code and hope to have the process completed by April. He said the committee will then present a proposed dress code to the BISD Board of Trustees in May to be adopted.

Filing Period for BISD School Board Election Begins in January
Seymore also said the filing period to run as a candidate in next year’s BISD’s Board of Trustee election begins on Jan. 17 and will end on Feb. 16, 2018. The two positions that are up for election are currently held by Thomas Tennison and Graham Reaugh.

To fill out an application for a place on the ballot, perspective candidates need to go by the BISD Administration offices between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 208 North Miller Ave.

North Elementary Principal Jennifer Gillard present the Student of the Month award to Nayely Robledo at Monday’s BISD Board of Trustees meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Principal Kenna Rainey presents the South Elementary Student of the Month award to Emma Walker at the BISD Board of Trustees meeting on Monday. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

East Elementary Principal Barbara Collinsworth gives the Student of the Month award to Camila Palacios at the BISD Board of Trustees meeting Monday. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Story by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: At Monday’s BISD Board meeting, drama students Elyssa Glick and Braxton Post and Breckenridge High School Theater Arts Teacher Callie Stenson discussed the recent production of “Charlotte’s Web”  and changes in the theater department. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)