Summary
Department
In accordance with Section 19(4) of the Auditor General Act, we report on our review of school jurisdiction audited financial statements and management letters. Notable trends over the past five years include the following:
- The consolidated accumulated operating surplus has decreased by $90 million to $313 million for the 75 school jurisdictions. The number of jurisdictions that have an accumulated operating deficit has not varied significantly (four in 2012).
- The number of school jurisdictions that incurred annual operating deficits has increased from eight to 30, peaking at 46 in 2010.
- Generally the type and number of recommendations made to school jurisdictions has been relatively consistent. However, three types of recommendations stand out. The number of jurisdictions with information technology management recommendations has declined over the period from 13 to five. School jurisdictions have focused on improving the quality of processes to change information systems and restrict access to the data therein. However, recommendations related to up-to-date formal policies and procedures and processes used to administer school-generated funds have not improved and exist in close to one-third of all jurisdictions in 2012. School boards need to hold management accountable for improving these recurring weaknesses.
The Department of Education has implemented our November 2011 recommendation to improve its consolidation processes—see page 84.
Northland School Division No. 61
There are no new recommendations to Northland School Division No. 61 in this report.