Fatima R-3 board members at their short monthly meeting last Wednesday approved the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, as presented by the firm of Mueller, Walla & Albertson of St. Louis.

The audit found no issues at all, a first for the district, according to Superintendent Chuck Woody, who noted that in the past there has been one small item.

”We always got tagged for segregation of duties, which is typical of smaller organizations that don’t have an extra person to look things over,” said Woody. “But we’ve actually got three people looking at every check and bill that comes through, so that wasn’t an issue.”

After last year’s audit, Woody said he agreed to many stipulations regarding the way checks and bills are verified, with random selections by the superintendent to make sure everything is above board.

“I must have signed my initials 40 or 50 times, but it was worth it to have an audit with absolutely no issues,” said Woody. “I really have to brag on Tim (Luebbering), Patty (Schnieders) and Ginger (Kloeppel) for their great work in keeping the books straight.”

Fatima ended the year with total revenues of $8,788,096, including $5,008,957 from local taxes, $2,746,850 from state funding, $492,022 from county taxes and $540,267 from federal sources.

Expenditures totaled $9,121,059. Instruction costs topped the list of expenditures at $4,477,374, while support services came in at $4,088,185, along with transportation ($655,077), and operation and maintenance ($1,221,183).

The district has a balance of $332,781 in capital projects, which is earmarked for gym and HVAC improvements made last year but not billed until the start of the new fiscal year. The district’s fund balances increased from $3,201,972 to $3,224,708, a net increase of $22,736.

* Bills were approved in the amount of $$139,236.92.