Holmes District School Board passes state audit

cbreaux@kentsmith.biz

A state audit found no issues with the Holmes District School Board’s finances and its operations.

The audit was included in the agenda for an April 9 School Board meeting and unanimously accepted by the Board.

“The audit came out very good,” Superintendent Buddy Brown said. “We had no findings. Thankfully, that’s three years in a row we’ve done that.”

A summary of the audit, conducted by the State of Florida Auditor General, said “the basic financial statements of the Holmes County District School Board (District) were presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with prescribed financial reporting standards.”

The audit reportedly did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting.

“The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be 

reported under Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States,” the audit said.

The audit covered the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.

The District’s total net position decreased by $547,575, or 1.3%, for the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to data. General Fund revenues totaled $27,436,580, or 72% of all revenues in the 2022-23 fiscal 

year, compared to $26,095,035, or 75.6% in the prior year.

The amount of total assets increased from the prior fiscal year, being at approximately $72.6 million in 2023–in comparison to $72.1 million in 2022. 

“Long-term liabilities increased and deferred inflows of resources decreased primarily due to the District 

recognizing its proportionate share of the Florida Retirement System’s net pension liability and deferred 

inflows of resources,” the audit said.

Total revenues also increased with approximately $38.4 million in 2023, up from $34.5 million in 2022.

“The largest revenue source is the State of Florida (63.3%). Revenues from State sources for 

current operations are primarily received through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funding 

Formula,” the audit said. “The FEFP funding formula utilizes student enrollment data and is designed to maintain equity in funding across all Florida school districts, taking into consideration the District’s funding ability based on the local property tax base.”

Grants and contributions not restricted to specific programs revenue increased $2,790,844, or 9.9%, primarily due to an increase in Federal Education Stabilization funding.

In other Holmes County education news, Brown announced Bonifay K-8 School and Holmes County High School became eligible for what are known as School Recognition funds after earning B grades in a statewide school assessment.

Bonifay K-8 received around $200,180, while Holmes County High got $74,950.