Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education Meeting Jan. 10, 2016 – 2016 Financial Audit
Minneapolis, MN – The 2016 audit of the Minneapolis Public Schools financial statements revealed that even with increased revenues, the Minneapolis School District overspent its budget by $21.6 million in 2016. The increased revenue came from $8 million more collected in property taxes and an increase to the state school funding formula, along with new students entering the district.
The original 2016 budget for fiscal year 2016 was based on revenue of $570.8 million and expenditures of $557.3 million. Those numbers had to be adjusted and $16 million moved into to the General Fund last spring after the district realized it was short $16 million at that time. The final amended revenue budget was $566.4 million with the amended expenditures at $574.7 million.
According to the reported numbers in the audit, the Minneapolis School District has run a yearly deficit between revenues and expenditures every year since 2012. In the years of 2012 – 2016, the deficit ranges from $5.7 million in 2012 to the reported $21 million in 2016. Each year, revenues increased, from $496 million in 2012 to $585 million in 2016. However, each year, expenditures exceeded revenue resulting in the above-mentioned deficits.
More than 51,000 students reside in the MPS district, but as was noted by district auditor Matthew Mayer of BergenKDV during the January 10, 2016 board meeting, one in three students do not attend district schools. MSP has approximately 36,000 students attending district schools; with per pupil costs of $16,000 per year. If the district’s debt service payments, food and community service fund expenditures are added into the per pupil costs, that amount rises to $23,176 per student per year, which is about $6,000 more than the state average.
During the Jan. 10 board meeting, District Finance Director Ibrahima Diop assured the board that there is a plan in place to replenish the $16 million borrowed from the service fund, and said that the district will need to budget differently in the future to avoid overspending.
For more information about the Minneapolis Public Schools 2016 Financial Audit, please visit the following links:
2016 Audit PowerPoint presentation slides
Minneapolis Public Schools 2016 Comprehensive Financial Report
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle is a former writer for Alpha News.
