School District's Finances in Good Shape

An annual audit done by accountants from Cypher and Cypher showed that the Chartiers Valley School District is in good financial shape.

The results of the audit were very good regarding to record keeping and the financial status of the district. No deficiencies were noted in the educational system or the financial records.

The presentation during the board’s monthly workshop meeting Tuesday night highlighted the fact that the district is well positioned for current expenditures as well as for planned future capital replacement costs and salary increases. Although retirement costs could possibly increase 20 to 30% in the future, the District is well positioned to handle those retirement projections.

The auditors made a point to note that two-thirds of the school districts that they audit have fallen short in projected tax revenue. But Chartiers Valleyt did not see that and the projected tax revenue seemed to be right in line with what was collected.

The audit review also included a positive assessment of the district’s record keeping and the associated tax collection vendors. 

The auditors also noted a few new Government Accounting Standards Board policies that will impact the record keeping in the district. These changes are to bring more consistency in school board accounting across the country and they will only affect accounting procedures.

Also during the workshop meeting, Patrick Myers, assistant principal, and John Ackermann, principal of the middle school, gave an overview of a new curriculum process that is designed to improve the teachers’ ability to identify the need for educational interventions and changes in the education of students with disabilities.  This project is a part of a statewide project used to identify learning disabilities early and provide teachers specific intervention techniques to assist these students. Chartiers Valley received $12,000 for this project.

The crux of the presentation was that in the past, most teachers identified students at risk by informal or an anecdotal process. This new program is a little more work for the teachers, but allows them to collect data on the students so that educational interventions can be targeted to each student regarding the type of intervention needed and the intensity of the intervention. 

This program is primarily used for reading and started this January.  In the future, the hope is to expand math in the future.
Lynne Dunnick, director of Student Services, said she had seen this program implemented in the school district where she previously worked and that it had become a great success.