After cuts to state funding and less-than-projected local tax revenue, what was left of Cape Girardeau School District's finances has been given a clean bill of health.

During their Monday night meeting, the Cape Girardeau School Board approved the district's financial audit for the 2002-03 school year.

An independent audit by local public accounting firm Beussink, Hey, Roe, Seabaugh & Stroder, LLC, showed no inaccuracies in actual finances or compliance with state and federal accounting regulations.

"We poked through everything trying to find something that wasn't done right, and we didn't find anything," said auditor Jeff Stroder. "That's about as good as it gets."

The 2003 audit reported a loss of $2.4 million in net assets -- that's an 11 percent decrease from the district's assets 2002 -- with total assets for the year at $52.9 million.

The district spent $36.5 million in 2002-03, but took in only $34 million in revenue, which is responsible for the loss in assets.

This year's audit also revisited three recommendations that were made in the 2002 audit, and found that all three had been implemented.

"They're very picky, and they don't let us get by with anything," said chief financial officer Rob Huff. "But at the same time, they come with an attitude to help us."

New federal regulations under the Governmental Auditing Standards Board required the district for the first time to include total assets in the annual audit.

To do that, school officials and the auditors had to sift through documents dating back to 1913 to find originals costs on school property such as the Louis J. Schultz School.

The audit also looked closely at the way federal funding was spent in areas such as food services, special education and student loans. Again, no violations were found by auditors.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128