The Kamloops-Thompson School District will release more details Monday about its plan to fix a $2.2-million budget deficit that was created by an accounting error.
Secretary-Treasurer Trina Cassidy says the multi-million dollar error came about as there was a some revenue that was counted twice.
“We provided the board with a document that said that we would be in a surplus position of $3.4 million, and we presented that to the board in May,” Cassidy told Radio NL. “But upon going through out financial reconciliation for year end in the summer, it was discovered that there was an error in the financial forecast worksheet.”
Cassidy says SD73 has already taken steps to ensure that a mistake like this doesn’t happen again.
“We have changed our, we call them working papers, we have changed our working paper to better align with how the audited financial statements are presented and the annual budget is presented,” she said. “And honestly, it was just an oversight on my part that I didn’t catch on that the item was counted twice.”
School officials say the money was spent on things like desks, new portables, and technology for students before they realized their mistake.
According to SD73’s 2023-24 audited financial statements, the district’s operating fund is now at a deficit of $784,000 while the local capital fund is at a deficit of just over $1.2 million.
“Once the deficit was shared with the Board, a decision was made to rectify it using internally restricted reserves,” a statement from the auditors said. “Due to the costs associated with consistent enrolment growth, the District’s existing reserves within the Operating Fund and Local Capital Fund had already been significantly depleted.”
“As such, the District has decided to carry the Local Capital Fund deficit and the portion of the Operating Fund deficit not associated with an existing reserve, as a negative amount within the internally restricted reserves.”
Speaking to Radio NL, SD73 Superintendent Rhonda Nixon says the shortfall will need a budget reduction plan, which she will present to the Board of Education during Monday’s meeting.
“The board holds us accountable to report to the public. The public has every right to say what happened and what are you going to do about it?” Nixon said. “That plan is designed to address that deficit and replenish the internally restricted reserves.”
Details around the plan are not clear just yet, though district staff are going to ask the board to approval a one to three year repayment plan.
“It needs to be very transparent and very clear about how its going to be addressed and I think that’s the first step in any accountability plan to make sure that we look at a situation like this and look to rectify it,” Nixon said.
“There are times when people make mistakes and our first step in any kind of work like this is to fix that mistake with the help of the individual who made it.”