Cape Girardeau Public Schools found in compliance with state statutes in annual financial audit

Cape Girardeau Public Schools' annual financial audit report was accepted by the Board of Education during its meeting Monday night, Nov. 25, at the Central Administration Offices.

According to the audit report presented during a special meeting of the board by Patrick Kintner, a certified public accountant with Stanley, Dirnberger, Hopper and Associates LLC., the district was found to comply with state statutes and saw its overall financial position improve from last year.

"We have a lot of good, experienced individuals involved in process, and we have some checks and balances," Kintner said. "All key things in the accounting process."

The district's net position — how much money it would have left if it paid off all of its debts — increased by $12.8 million, while total revenue increased from $71.2 million in 2023 to $80.9 million in 2024. According to the report, the district's current assets increased by $2.4 million, while its capital assets increased by $7.5 million.

General revenue accounted for $54.2 million (67%) of the district's total revenue, while $26.7 million (33%) came from program-specific revenue such as grants and service charges.

The district had $66.1 million in education-related expenses, which increased by $3.2 million from last year. This was partly because of pension liability adjustments, an increase in salaries and benefits for faculty and staff, and higher costs for supplies and services.

The district's operational expenses increased by $2.1 million in 2024, largely because of anticipated salary and benefit adjustments, leaving it with just more than $23 million in its general and special revenue funds.

"One of the things that I noticed — that I really liked, too — from the operational standpoint, is we had about a 4.1% increase in salaries and benefits, which is about $1.8 million," Kintner said. "About 75% of our expenditures are salaries and benefits."

The balance in the capital projects fund decreased by $2.2 million — from $5.9 million to $3.7 million — because of the near-completion of the athletics improvement, Cape Central Academy and Cape Career and Technology Center welding lab projects. Total fund balances increased by $1.9 million, while unrestricted operational expenses increased from 32.4% to 37.3%

The full report is available at the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education website.