Bleckley County Board of Education, Cochran, Georgia, annual financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 (including independent auditor's reports)

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
COCHRAN, GEORGIA
ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
(Including Independent Auditor's Reports)

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION - TABLE OF CONTENTS -

SECTION I

FINANCIAL

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

EXHIBITS

BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

GOVERNMENT-WIDE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

A

STATEMENT OF NET POSITION

B

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

FUND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

C

BALANCE SHEET

GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS

D

RECONCILIATION OF THE GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS BALANCE SHEET

TO THE STATEMENT OF NET POSITION

E

STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES

IN FUND BALANCES

GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS

F

RECONCILIATION OF THE GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS STATEMENT

OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND

BALANCES TO THE STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES

G

STATEMENT OF FIDUCIARY NET POSITION

FIDUCIARY FUNDS

H

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FIDUCIARY NET POSITION

FIDUCIARY FUNDS

I NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SCHEDULES

REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

1 SCHEDULE OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
2 SCHEDULE OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
3 SCHEDULE OF CONTRIBUTIONS TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA 4 NOTES TO THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 5 SCHEDULE OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES
IN FUND BALANCES - BUDGET AND ACTUAL GENERAL FUND

Page
i
1 2
4 5 6 7 8 9 11
31 32 33 34 35

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION - TABLE OF CONTENTS -

SECTION I
FINANCIAL
SCHEDULES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
6 SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS 7 SCHEDULE OF STATE REVENUE 8 SCHEDULE OF APPROVED LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX PROJECTS

Page
36 37 39

SECTION II
COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL CONTROL REPORTS
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING AND ON COMPLIANCE AND OTHER MATTERS BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON COMPLIANCE FOR EACH MAJOR PROGRAM AND ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER COMPLIANCE REQUIRED BY THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE

SECTION III AUDITEE'S RESPONSE TO PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS SUMMARY SCHEDULE OF PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

SECTION IV FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

SECTION V MANAGEMENT'S CORRECTIVE ACTION FOR CURRENT YEAR FINDINGS SCHEDULE OF MANAGEMENT'S CORRECTIVE ACTION

SECTION I FINANCIAL

GREG S. GRIFFIN
STATE AUDITOR
(404) 656-2174

DEPARTMENT OF AUDITS AND ACCOUNTS
270 Washington Street, S.W., Suite 1-156 Atlanta, Georgia 30334-8400
November 30, 2018

The Honorable Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia Members of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia Members of the State Board of Education
and Superintendent and Members of the Bleckley County Board of Education
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT
Report on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying financial statements of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the Bleckley County Board of Education (School District), as of and for the year ended June 30, 2017, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the School District's basic financial statements as listed in the table of contents.
Management's Responsibility for the Financial Statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; this includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Auditor's Responsibility
Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity's preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the

effectiveness of the entity's internal control. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements.
We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions.
Opinions
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the School District as of June 30, 2017, and the respective changes in financial position for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Emphasis of Matter
As described in Note 2 to the financial statements, in 2017, the School District adopted new accounting guidance, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 77, Tax Abatement Disclosures, GASB Statement No. 80, Blending Requirements for Certain Component Units, and GASB Statement No. 82, Pension Issues. Our opinions are not modified with respect to these matters.
Other Matters
Required Supplementary Information
Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America require that the Management's Discussion and Analysis, Schedules of Proportionate Share of the Net Pension Liability, Schedule of Contributions to Retirement Systems, Notes to the Required Supplementary Information and the Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances - Budget and Actual as presented on pages i through ix , and pages 31 through 35, respectively, be presented to supplement the basic financial statements. Such information, although not a part of the basic financial statements, is required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, who considers it to be an essential part of financial reporting for placing the basic financial statements in an appropriate operational, economic, or historical context. We have applied certain limited procedures to the required supplementary information in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America, which consisted of inquiries of management about the methods of preparing the information and comparing the information for consistency with management's responses to our inquiries, the basic financial statements, and other knowledge we obtained during our audit of the basic financial statements. We do not express an opinion or provide any assurance on the information because the limited procedures do not provide us with sufficient evidence to express an opinion or provide any assurance.
Other Information
Our audit was conducted for the purpose of forming opinions on the financial statements that collectively comprise the School District's basic financial statements. The accompanying supplementary information, as listed in the table of contents, is presented for the purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements. The Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards is presented for purposes of additional analysis as required by Title 2

U. S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and is also not a required part of the basic financial statements.
The accompanying supplementary information is the responsibility of management and was derived from and relates directly to the underlying accounting and other records used to prepare the basic financial statements. Such information has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial statements and certain additional procedures, including comparing and reconciling such information directly to the underlying accounting and other records used to prepare the basic financial statements or to the basic financial statements themselves, and other additional procedures in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. In our opinion, the information is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
Other Reporting Required by Government Auditing Standards
In accordance with Government Auditing Standards, we have also issued our report dated November 30, 2018 on our consideration of the School District's internal control over financial reporting and on our tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements and other matters. The purpose of that report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control over financial reporting and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the School District's internal control over financial reporting or on compliance. That report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the School District's internal control over financial reporting and compliance.
A copy of this report has been filed as a permanent record in the office of the State Auditor and made available to the press of the State, as provided for by Official Code of Georgia Annotated section 50-6-24.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg S. Griffin State Auditor

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
INTRODUCTION
The discussion and analysis of the Bleckley County Board of Education's (the School District) financial performance provides an overview of the School District's financial activities for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016. The intent of this discussion and analysis is to look at the School District's financial performance as a whole. Readers should also review the financial statements and the notes to the basic financial statements to enhance their understanding of the School District's financial performance.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Key financial highlights for the fiscal years 2017 and 2016 are as follows:
On the government-wide financial statements, the assets and deferred outflows of resources of the School District exceeded liabilities and deferred inflows of resources by $14,708,935 and $14,975,414, respectively, for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017 and 2016.
The School District had $27,135,849 and $24,152,003 in expenses relating to governmental activities for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, respectively. Only $19,282,094 and $18,058,533 of the above mentioned expenses for 2017 and 2016 were offset by program specific charges for services, grants and contributions. General revenues (primarily property and sales taxes) of $7,587,276 and $7,205,661, respectively, for 2017 and 2016, along with fund balance were adequate to provide for these programs.
General revenues accounts for $7,587,276, in revenue or 28.24% of all revenues. Program specific revenues in the form of charges for services and sales, grants and contributions accounted for $19,282,094 or 71.76% of total revenues of $26,869.370.
The current ratio, which measures the School District's ability to transform current assets into cash and pay its short-term liabilities, was 2.65% and 2.57% for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, respectively. Generally, a ratio greater than 2.0 is considered very financially stable.
The Bleckley County voters passed a one percent sales tax for educational purposes (ESPLOST) for another five years (2018-2022) March 1, 2016.
Long-term debt decreased by $878,253 for 2017 and decreased by $853,253 for 2016. This decrease for 2017 was due primarily to the principal payments on outstanding debt.
The general fund (the primary operating fund), presented on a current financial resource basis, ended the fiscal year with a fund balance of $3,679,688, an increase of $509,678 from the June 30, 2016 fund balance of $3,170,010.
Among major funds, the general fund had $25,776,836 in revenues and $25,067,158 in expenditures. The fund balance for the general fund increased from $3,170,010 to approximately $3,679,688. Several factors led to this increase: increased enrollment which led to increased state funding, a concerted effort to reduce expenditures, and additional operational efficiencies achieved in fiscal year 17.
i

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
OVERVIEW OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
This annual report consists of three parts: management's discussion and analysis, the basic financial statements and required supplementary information. The basic financial statements include two levels of statements that present different views of the School District. These include the governmentwide and fund financial statements.
The government-wide financial statements include the Statement of Net Position and Statement of Activities. These statements provide information about the activities of the School District presenting both short-term and long-term information about the overall financial status.
The fund financial statements focus on individual parts, reporting the School District's operation in more detail. The governmental funds statements disclose how basic services are financed in the shortterm as well as what remains for future spending. The fiduciary funds statements provide information about the financial relationships in which the School District acts solely as a trustee or agent for the benefit of others.
The fund financial statements reflect the School District's most significant funds. For the years ending June 30, 2017 and 2016, the general fund, the capital projects fund, and the debt service fund represent the most significant funds.
The financial statements also include notes that explain some of the information in the statements and provide more detailed data. The statements are followed by a section of required supplementary information that further explains and supports the financial statements. Additionally, other supplementary information (not required) is also presented that further supplements understanding of the financial statements.
Government-Wide Statements
The government-wide statements report information about the School District as a whole using accounting methods similar to those used by private-sector companies. The Statement of Net Position includes all of the School District's assets and liabilities. All of the current fiscal year's revenues and expenses are accounted for in the Statement of Activities regardless of when cash is received or paid.
The two government-wide statements report the School District's net position and how it has changed. Net position, the difference between the School District's assets and deferred outflows of resources, and liabilities and deferred inflows of resources, are one way to measure the School District's overall financial health or position. Over time, increases or decreases in net position are an indication of whether its financial health is improving or deteriorating. Changes may be the result of many factors, including those not under the School District's control, such as the property tax base, facility conditions, required educational programs and other factors.
In the Statement of Net Position and the Statement of Activities, the School District has one distinct type of activity:
Governmental Activities All of the School District's programs and services are reported here including instruction, support services, operation and maintenance of plant, pupil transportation, food service, student activity accounts and various others.
ii

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017 Fund Financial Statements The School District's fund financial statements provide detailed information about the most significant funds, not the School District as a whole. Some funds are required by State law and some by bond requirements. The School District's major governmental funds are the general fund, the capital projects fund, and the debt service fund. Governmental Funds - Most of the School District's activities are reported in governmental funds, which focus on the determination of financial position and change in financial position, not on income determination. These funds are reported using the modified accrual method of accounting, which measures cash and all other financial assets that can readily be converted to cash. The governmental fund statements provide a detailed short-term view of the School District's general government operations and the basic services it provides. Governmental fund information helps determine whether there are more or fewer financial resources that can be spent in the near future to finance educational programs. The relationship (or differences) between governmental activities (reported in the Statement of Net Position and the Statement of Activities) and governmental funds are reconciled to the financial statements. Fiduciary Funds - The School District is the trustee, or fiduciary, for assets that belong to others, such as school clubs and organizations within the principals' accounts. The School District is responsible for ensuring that the assets reported in these funds are used only for their intended purposes and by those to whom the assets belong. The School District excludes these activities from the governmentwide financial statements because it cannot use these assets to finance its operations.
iii

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A WHOLE
Recall that the Statement of Net Position provides the perspective of the School District as a whole. Table 1 provides a summary of the School District's net position for fiscal years 2017 and 2016.

Table 1 Net Position

Governmental Activities

Fiscal

Fiscal

Year 2017

Year 2016

Assets Current and Other Assets Capital Assets, Net

$

7,828,566 $

7,019,006

33,225,725

34,218,172

Total Assets

41,054,291

41,237,178

Deferred Outflows of Resources Related to Defined Benefit Pension Plan

6,015,808

2,168,470

Liabilities Current and Other Liabilities Long-Term Liabilities

2,954,376 29,162,218

2,730,976 24,085,373

Total Liabilities

32,116,594

26,816,349

Deferred Inflows of Resources Related to Defined Benefit Pension Plan

244,570

1,613,885

Net Position Net Investment in Capital Assets Restricted Unrestricted (Deficit)

27,278,596 1,526,817
(14,096,478)

27,459,089 1,285,281
(13,768,956)

Total Net Position

$ 14,708,935 $ 14,975,414

Total assets and deferred outflows of resources increased by $3,664,451, which was primarily due to changes in deferred outflows relating to pensions.

Total liabilities and deferred inflows of resources increased by $3,930,930, mainly due to an increase in net pension liability. The combination of the increase in total assets and deferred outflows of resources and the increase in total liabilities and deferred inflows of resources yielded a decrease in net position of 266,479.

Net position decreased $266,479 in fiscal year 2017. This decrease is primarily due to changes in deferred outflows relating to pensions mentioned above.

iv

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

Table 2 shows the changes in net position for fiscal years ending June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016.

Table 2 Change in Net Position

Revenues

Program Revenues:

Charges for Services

$

Operating Grants and Contributions

Capital Grants and Contributions

Governmental Activities

Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year

2017

2016

400,211 $ 18,804,667
77,216

429,646 17,273,743
355,144

Total Program Revenues

19,282,094

18,058,533

General Revenues: Taxes Property Taxes For Maintenance and Operations Railroad Cars Other Taxes Sales Taxes Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax For Debt Services For Capital Projects Other Taxes Grants and Contributions not Restricted to Specific Programs Investment Earnings Miscellaneous
Total General Revenues
Total Revenues
Program Expenses: Instruction Support Services Pupil Services Improvement of Instructional Services Educational Media Services General Administration School Administration Business Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Central Support Services Other Support Services Operations of Non-Instructional Services Community Services Food Services Interest on Short-Term and Long-Term Debt

3,670,294 10,081 -

3,634,628 9,779
15,194

886,450 85,274 44,969
2,067,342 6,704
816,162
7,587,276
26,869,370
17,160,995
1,020,689 442,407 398,051 719,476
1,567,840 184,219
1,688,329 1,488,814
28,890 234,638
42,029 1,957,575
201,897

1,010,599
39,030
1,586,943 6,057
903,431
7,205,661
25,264,194
15,057,660
887,233 421,108 356,982 413,737 1,470,804 145,301 1,698,064 1,344,612
24,858 183,334
46,613 1,878,339
223,358

Total Expenses

27,135,849

24,152,003

Increase (Decrease) in Net Position

$

(266,479) $ 1,112,191

v

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
Program revenues, in the form of charges for services, operating grants and contributions and capital grants and contributions increased $1,223,561 for governmental activities. This increase is largely due to an increase in funds earned through the State Quality Basic Education (QBE) Funding Formula and a decrease in QBE Austerity Reduction from one fiscal period to the next.
General revenues increased by $381,615 during fiscal year 2017 primarily due to increased equalization funding.
Governmental Activities
The Statement of Activities shows the cost of program services and the charges for services and grants offsetting those services. Table 3 shows the total cost of services and the net cost of services. Net cost of services can be defined as the total cost less fees generated by the activities and intergovernmental revenue provided for specific programs. The net cost reflects the financial burden on the School District's taxpayers by each activity as compared to the prior year.
Table 3 Governmental Activities

Total Cost of Services

Fiscal

Fiscal

Year 2017

Year 2016

Net Cost of Services

Fiscal

Fiscal

Year 2017

Year 2016

Instruction Support Services:
Pupil Services Improvement of Instructional Services Educational Media Services General Administration School Administration Business Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Central Support Services Other Support Services Operations of Non-Instructional Services: Community Services Food Services Interest on Short-Term and Long-Term Debt

$ 17,160,995 $ 15,057,660 $ 3,302,831 $ 2,434,939

1,020,689 442,407 398,051 719,476
1,567,840 184,219
1,688,329 1,488,814
28,890 234,638

887,233 421,108 356,982 413,737 1,470,804 145,301 1,698,064 1,344,612
24,858 183,334

751,326 108,177
89,550 181,783 774,872 172,227 897,483 1,237,588
28,890 49,541

676,603 188,698
49,471 (395,523) 682,459 145,302 901,676 1,106,490
24,858 26,153

42,029 1,957,575
201,897

46,613 1,878,339
223,358

42,029 15,561 201,897

46,613 (17,627) 223,358

Total Expenses

$ 27,135,849 $ 24,152,003 $ 7,853,755 $ 6,093,470

Although program revenues make up a majority of the funding, the School District is still dependent upon tax revenues for governmental activities. For 2017, 28.94% of instruction and support activities were supplemented by taxes and other general revenues compared to 25.23% in 2016.

vi

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017 Expenses increased $2,983,846 from the prior year, the net costs of providing services increased $1,760,285. This situation occurred because of increased instructional staffing and other instructional costs. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S FUNDS The School District's governmental funds are accounted for using the modified accrual basis of accounting. Total governmental funds had revenues and other financing sources of $26,948,965 and expenditures and other financing uses of $26,435,811. The general fund had an overall increase of $509,678. The increase in the general fund for the year is due mostly to increased enrollment which led to increased state funding and additional operational efficiencies achieved in fiscal year 2017. General Fund Budgeting Highlights The School District's budget is prepared according to Georgia Law. The most significant budgeted fund is the general fund, funded primarily through state revenue and local property tax revenue. During the course of fiscal years 2017 and 2016, the School District amended its general fund budget as needed. During fiscal year 2017 the general fund had final actual revenues and other financing sources totaling $25,776,836, which represented an increase from the original budgeted amount of $23,630,751 by $2,146,085. This difference (final actual vs. original budget) was due to multiple grants not approved prior to the submission of the original budget. The final budget of $25,466,112 represents a more accurate amount. Final actual expenditures during fiscal year 2017 totaling $25,067,158 represented an increase from the original budgeted amount of $22,609,675 by $2,457,483. The increase in actual expenditures versus original budgeted expenditures was due primarily to salary and benefit increases, new software and computer purchases, and an increase in supplies expenditures. The final budget of $24,950,105 represents a more accurate amount.
vii

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
CAPITAL ASSETS
At the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, the School District had $33,225,725 and $34,218,172, respectively, invested in capital assets, net of accumulated depreciation. These assets are made up of a broad range of capital assets, including land; buildings; transportation, food service and maintenance equipment. Table 4 reflects a summary of these balances, by class, net of accumulated depreciation, as compared to the prior fiscal year.
Table 4 Capital Assets (Net of Depreciation)

Governmental Activities

Fiscal

Fiscal

Year 2017

Year 2016

Land Construction In Progress Building and Improvements Equipment Land Improvements

$

259,481 $

259,481

83,591

-

30,983,684

31,817,997

914,376

1,107,017

984,593

1,033,677

Total

$ 33,225,725 $ 34,218,172

The overall capital assets decreased in fiscal year 2017 by $992,447 mainly due to depreciation.

Construction in progress increased primarily due to the high school athletic expansion, which began in June 2017.

DEBT ADMINISTRATION

At June 30, 2017, the School District had $5,880,830 in long-term liabilities which consisted of $5,680,000 in bond debt and $200,830 in unamortized bond premiums outstanding with $903,253 due within one year. Table 5 summarizes bond debt outstanding at June 30, 2017 and 2016.

Table 5 Debt at June 30

Governmental Activities

Fiscal

Fiscal

Year 2017

Year 2016

General Obligation Bonds Unamortized Bond Premiums

$ 5,680,000 $ 6,520,000

200,830

239,083

$ 5,880,830 $ 6,759,083

viii

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
CURRENT ISSUES
In fiscal year 2018, the cost of the employer portion of TRS pension will increase approximately $332,000. In addition, revenues will again be cut as the State of Georgia imposes another QBE Austerity Reduction expected to cost the School District approximately $272,137 in earned revenue, bringing the grand total of revenue lost since the cuts began in 2003 to approximately $16.0 million.
Approximately 79% of general fund expenses, the main operating fund for the School District, were related to salaries and employee benefits for the year ended June 30, 2017. Approximately 41% of certified personnel in the School District have 21 years or more of experience, resulting in salaries at the highest possible state pay level. With such personnel heavy expenses, it is difficult to offset mandated expense increases such as TRS. The School District consistently evaluates how funds can be spent smarter and more effectively to ensure that Bleckley County students receive a quality education from effective personnel.
The School District's millage rate for fiscal year 2017 was 14.349. The net digest was relatively flat during fiscal years 2017 and 2016. The net digest for fiscal year 2017 was $245.4 million, which produced approximately $245,000 per mill. As shown in Table 2, property tax and sales tax are responsible for covering 17% of the School District's costs. It is anticipated that this pressure to provide local monies to meet mandated educational requirements and operational costs will continue.
The most significant challenge facing the School District is the relative uncertainty regarding how School Districts will be funded moving forward. The General Assembly is in the process of exploring new funding formulas that would likely cement in the austerity reductions received annually and change the way personnel salaries are calculated. It is uncertain at this point what type of financial impact these changes might have on the School District's finances.
General fund revenues were positively impacted in fiscal year 2017 by the School District's decision to implement the newly offered Community Eligibility Plan (CEP) for school food reimbursements. This change resulted in additional revenues versus fiscal year 2016 in excess of $100 thousand. The School District remains vigilant at controlling costs, and maintained general fund expenditures comparable to fiscal year 2016. Year over year spending increases were attributable to increases in salaries. As expected, revenues in fiscal year 2017 exceeded expenditures. Through rigorous controls, the general fund balance increased by $509 thousand.
CONTACTING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
This financial report is designed to provide our citizens, taxpayers, investors and creditors with a general overview of the School District's finances and to show the School District's accountability for the money it receives. If you have questions about this report or need additional financial information, contact Aly Rozier at the Bleckley County Board of Education, 242 East Dykes Street. You may also email your questions to arozier@bleckley.k12.ga.us.
ix

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION STATEMENT OF NET POSITION JUNE 30, 2017
ASSETS
Cash and Cash Equivalents Investments Accounts Receivable, Net
Interest Taxes State Government Federal Government Other Inventories Prepaid Items Capital Assets, Non-Depreciable Capital Assets, Depreciable (Net of Accumulated Depreciation)
Total Assets
DEFERRED OUTFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Related to Defined Benefit Pension Plan
LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable Salaries and Benefits Payable Interest Payable Contracts Payable Deposits and Unearned Revenues Net Pension Liability Long-Term Liabilities
Due Within One Year Due in More Than One Year
Total Liabilities
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Related to Defined Benefit Pension Plan
NET POSITION
Net Investment in Capital Assets Restricted for
Continuation of Federal Programs Debt Service Capital Projects Unrestricted (Deficit)
Total Net Position
The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

EXHIBIT "A"

GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES

$

4,848,380.17

15,702.76

38.49 361,000.85 1,944,076.82 537,889.92
22,924.03 51,938.71 46,613.77 343,072.10 32,882,652.92

41,054,290.54

6,015,808.26

245,761.56 2,580,560.07
57,400.00 66,298.50
4,355.74 23,281,388.00
903,253.35 4,977,576.76
32,116,593.98

244,570.00

27,278,596.41
470,313.08 922,425.00 134,078.38 (14,096,478.05)

$ 14,708,934.82

- 1 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

GOVERNMENTAL ACTIVITIES
Instruction Support Services
Pupil Services Improvement of Instructional Services Educational Media Services General Administration School Administration Business Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Central Support Services Other Support Services Operations of Non-Instructional Services Community Services Food Services Interest on Short-Term and Long-Term Debt
Total Governmental Activities
General Revenues Taxes Property Taxes For Maintenance and Operations Railroad Cars Sales Taxes Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax For Debt Services For Capital Projects Other Sales Tax Grants and Contributions not Restricted to Specific Programs Investment Earnings Miscellaneous
Total General Revenues
Change in Net Position
Net Position - Beginning of Year
Net Position - End of Year

EXPENSES

CHARGES FOR SERVICES

$ 17,160,995.05 $
1,020,689.13 442,406.84 398,050.41 719,475.96
1,567,840.39 184,219.15
1,688,329.21 1,488,813.73
28,890.05 234,638.24
42,029.41 1,957,575.17
201,896.64
$ 27,135,849.38 $

186,128.39
-
214,082.31
-
400,210.70

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

- 2 -

EXHIBIT "B"

PROGRAM REVENUES OPERATING GRANTS AND
CONTRIBUTIONS

CAPITAL GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

NET (EXPENSES) REVENUES
AND CHANGES IN NET POSITION

$ 13,672,034.96 $
269,363.17 334,229.85 308,500.00 537,693.25 792,968.40 11,992.45 790,846.70 174,009.12
185,097.19
1,727,932.33
-
$ 18,804,667.42 $

- $
77,216.25 -
-
77,216.25

(3,302,831.70)
(751,325.96) (108,176.99)
(89,550.41) (181,782.71) (774,871.99) (172,226.70) (897,482.51) (1,237,588.36)
(28,890.05) (49,541.05)
(42,029.41) (15,560.53) (201,896.64)
(7,853,755.01)

3,670,293.86 10,081.31
886,450.00 85,274.04 44,969.18
2,067,342.19 6,703.96
816,161.50
7,587,276.04
(266,478.97)
14,975,413.79

$

14,708,934.82

- 3 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BALANCE SHEET
GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "C"

ASSETS
Cash and Cash Equivalents Investments Accounts Receivable, Net
Interest Taxes State Government Federal Government Other Inventories Prepaid Items

GENERAL FUND

CAPITAL PROJECTS
FUND

DEBT SERVICE
FUND

TOTAL

$ 3,812,859.08 $ 1,035,496.09 $

15,702.76

-

38.49 282,618.56 1,944,076.82 537,889.92
22,924.03 51,938.71 46,613.77

78,382.29
-

25.00 $ 4,848,380.17

-

15,702.76

-

38.49

-

361,000.85

-

1,944,076.82

-

537,889.92

-

22,924.03

-

51,938.71

-

46,613.77

Total Assets
LIABILITIES
Accounts Payable Salaries and Benefits Payable Contracts Payable Deposits and Unearned Revenue
Total Liabilities
DEFERRED INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
Unavailable Revenue - Property Taxes
FUND BALANCES
Nonspendable Restricted Unassigned
Total Fund Balances

$ 6,714,662.14 $ 1,113,878.38 $

25.00 $ 7,828,565.52

$

245,761.56 $

2,580,560.07

-

4,355.74

2,830,677.37

- $ 66,298.50 -
66,298.50

- $

245,761.56

-

2,580,560.07

-

66,298.50

-

4,355.74

-

2,896,975.87

204,296.69

-

-

204,296.69

98,552.48 418,374.37 3,162,761.23
3,679,688.08

1,047,579.88
-
1,047,579.88

25.00
-
25.00

98,552.48 1,465,979.25 3,162,761.23
4,727,292.96

Total Liabilities, Deferred Inflows of Resources, and Fund Balances

$ 6,714,662.14 $ 1,113,878.38 $

25.00 $ 7,828,565.52

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION RECONCILIATION OF THE GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS BALANCE SHEET
TO THE STATEMENT OF NET POSITION JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "D"

Total fund balances - governmental funds (Exhibit "C")
Amounts reported for governmental activities in the Statement of Net Position are different because:
Capital Assets used in governmental activities are not financial resources and therefore are not reported in the funds.
Land Construction in progress Land improvements Buildings Equipment Accumulated depreciation
Some liabilities are not due and payable in the current period and, therefore, are not reported in the funds.
Net pension liability
Deferred outflows and inflows of resources related to pensions are applicable to future periods and, therefore, are not reported in the governmental funds.
Taxes that are not available to pay for current period expenditures are deferred in the funds.
Long-term liabilities,and related accrued interest, are not due and payable in the current period and therefore are not reported in the funds.
Bonds payable Accrued interest payable Bond premiums, net of amortization
Net Position of governmental activities (Exhibit "A")

$ 4,727,292.96

$

259,480.81

83,591.29

1,629,164.39

41,681,641.63

3,924,874.78

(14,353,027.88)

33,225,725.02

(23,281,388.00) 5,771,238.26 204,296.69

$ (5,680,000.00) (57,400.00)
(200,830.11)

(5,938,230.11)

$ 14,708,934.82

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

- 5 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES
GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "E"

REVENUES
Property Taxes Sales Taxes State Funds Federal Funds Charges for Services Investment Earnings Miscellaneous
Total Revenues
EXPENDITURES
Current Instruction Support Services Pupil Services Improvement of Instructional Services Educational Media Services General Administration School Administration Business Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Central Support Services Other Support Services Community Services Food Services Operation
Capital Outlay Debt Services
Principal Dues and Fees Interest
Total Expenditures
Excess of Revenues over (under) Expenditures
OTHER FINANCING SOURCES (USES)
Transfers In Transfers Out
Total Other Financing Sources (Uses)
Net Change in Fund Balances
Fund Balances - Beginning
Fund Balances - Ending

GENERAL FUND

CAPITAL PROJECTS
FUND

DEBT SERVICE
FUND

TOTAL

$ 3,613,669.10 $ 44,969.18
16,746,083.02 4,149,443.80 400,210.70 6,298.96 816,161.14
25,776,835.90

- $ 85,274.04
405.00 -
85,679.04

- $ 886,450.00
-
886,450.00

3,613,669.10 1,016,693.22 16,746,083.02 4,149,443.80
400,210.70 6,703.96
816,161.14
26,748,964.94

15,614,051.53
979,124.19 427,267.06 382,065.26 630,815.46 1,500,287.77 177,302.50 1,688,098.50 1,471,019.07
27,506.72 234,514.64
42,029.41 1,893,075.46
-
-
25,067,157.57
709,678.33

-
82,203.79
-
82,203.79
3,475.25

-
-
840,000.00 4,250.00
242,200.00
1,086,450.00
(200,000.00)

15,614,051.53
979,124.19 427,267.06 382,065.26 630,815.46 1,500,287.77 177,302.50 1,688,098.50 1,471,019.07
27,506.72 234,514.64
42,029.41 1,893,075.46
82,203.79
840,000.00 4,250.00
242,200.00
26,235,811.36
513,153.58

(200,000.00) (200,000.00) 509,678.33 3,170,009.75

3,475.25 1,044,104.63

200,000.00 -
200,000.00 -
25.00

200,000.00 (200,000.00)
-
513,153.58
4,214,139.38

$ 3,679,688.08 $ 1,047,579.88 $

25.00 $ 4,727,292.96

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

- 6 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION RECONCILIATION OF THE GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS STATEMENT OF
REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES TO THE STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "F"

Net change in fund balances total governmental funds (Exhibit "E")
Amounts reported for governmental activities in the Statement of Activities are different because:
Governmental funds report capital outlay as expenditures. However, in the Statement of Activities, the cost of capital assets is allocated over their estimated useful lives as depreciation expense.
Capital Outlay Depreciation Expense
The net effect of various miscellaneous transactions involving capital assets (i.e., sales, trade-ins, donations and disposals) is to decrease net position.
Taxes reported in the Statement of Activities that do not provide current financial resources are not reported as revenues in the funds.
The issuance of long-term debt provides current financial resources to governmental funds, while the repayment of principal of long-term debt consumes the current financial resources of governmental funds. Neither transaction, however, has any effect on net position. Also, governmental funds report the effect of premiums, discounts and the difference between the carrying value of refunded debt and the acquisition cost of refunded debt when debt is first issued. These amounts are deferred and amortized in the Statement of Activities.
Bond principal retirements Amortization of bond premiums
School District pension contributions are reported as expenditure in the governmetnal funds when made. However, they are reported as deferred outflows of resources in the Statement of Net Position bvecause the reported net pension liability is measured a year before the District's report date. Pension expense, which is the change in the net pension liability adjusted for changes in deferred outflows and inflows of resources related to pensions, is reproted in the Statement of Activities.
Pension expense
Some items reported in the Statement of Activities do not require the use of current financial resources and therefore are not reported as expenditures in governmental funds. The net effect of these adjustments are:
Accrued interest on issuance of bonds

$ 513,153.58

$ 176,651.65 (1,120,767.54)

(944,115.89)

(48,331.53)

66,706.07

$ 840,000.00 38,253.36

878,253.36

(738,444.56) 6,300.00

Change in net position of governmental activities (Exhibit "B")

$ (266,478.97)

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

- 7 -

ASSETS Cash and Cash Equivalents
LIABILITIES Accounts Payable Funds Held for Others
Total Liabilities NET POSITION Held in Trust for Private Purposes

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION STATEMENT OF FIDUCIARY NET POSITION
FIDUCIARY FUNDS JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "G"

PRIVATE PURPOSE TRUSTS

AGENCY FUNDS

$

16,813.85 $

68,600.65

$

4,800.00

63,800.65

$

68,600.65

$

16,813.85

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

- 8 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN FIDUCIARY NET POSITION
FIDUCIARY FUNDS YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
ADDITIONS Investment Earnings Interest
DEDUCTIONS Scholarships Change in Net Position
Net Position - Beginning
Net Position - Ending

EXHIBIT "H"

PRIVATE PURPOSE TRUSTS

$

34.65

1,000.00 (965.35)
17,779.20

$ 16,813.85

The notes to the basic financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

NOTE 1: DESCRIPTION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT AND REPORTING ENTITY
REPORTING ENTITY
The Bleckley County Board of Education (School District) was established under the laws of the State of Georgia and operates under the guidance of a board elected by the voters and a Superintendent appointed by the Board. The School District is organized as a separate legal entity and has the power to levy taxes and issue bonds. Its budget is not subject to approval by any other entity. Accordingly, the School District is a primary government and consists of all the organizations that compose its legal entity.
Blended Component Unit
The Bleckley County School Building Authority (the Authority) was created by House Bill 1312 during the 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly. The purpose of the Authority is to provide, acquire, construct, equip, maintain, and operate public service facilities, to acquire the necessary property therefore, both real and personal, and to lease or sell any or all of such facilities, including real and personal property for the benefit of the School District. The Authority consists of five members appointed by the governing authority of the School District. The Authority is a component unit of the School District and as such the Authority's financial activity has been blended with the School District's basic financial statements.
NOTE 2: SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The accompanying financial statements of the School District have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). GASB is the accepted standard-setting body for governmental accounting and financial reporting principles. The most significant of the School District's accounting policies are described below.
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The School District's basic financial statements are collectively comprised of the government-wide financial statements, fund financial statements and notes to the basic financial statements. The government-wide statements focus on the School District as a whole, while the fund financial statements focus on major funds. Each presentation provides valuable information that can be analyzed and compared between years and between governments to enhance the information's usefulness.
GOVERNMENT-WIDE STATEMENTS:
The Statement of Net Position and the Statement of Activities display information about the financial activities of the overall School District except for fiduciary activities. Eliminations have been made to minimize the double counting of internal activities. Governmental activities generally are financed through taxes, intergovernmental revenues, and other nonexchange transactions.
The Statement of Net Position presents the School District's non-fiduciary assets and liabilities, with the difference reported as net position. Net position is reported in three categories as follows:
1. Net investment in capital assets consists of the School District's total investment in capital assets, net of accumulated depreciation, and reduced by outstanding debt obligations related to those capital assets. To the extent debt has been incurred but not yet expended for capital assets, such amounts are not included as a component of net investment in capital assets.
2. Restricted net position consists of resources for which the School District is legally or contractually obligated to spend in accordance with restrictions imposed by external third parties or imposed by law through constitutional provisions or enabling legislation.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

3. Unrestricted net position consists of resources not meeting the definition of the two preceding categories. Unrestricted net positon often has constraints on resources imposed by management which can be removed or modified.
The Statement of Activities presents a comparison between direct expenses and program revenues for each function of the School District's governmental activities.
Direct expenses are those that are specifically associated with a program or function and, therefore, are clearly identifiable to a particular function. Indirect expenses (expenses of the School District related to the administration and support of the School District's programs, such as office and maintenance personnel and accounting) are not allocated to programs.
Program revenues include (a) charges paid by the recipients of goods or services offered by the programs and (b) grants and contributions that are restricted to meeting the operational or capital requirements of a particular program. Revenues that are not classified as program revenues, including all taxes, are presented as general revenues.
FUND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The fund financial statements provide information about the School District's funds, including fiduciary funds. Eliminations have been made to minimize the double counting of internal activities. Separate financial statements are presented for governmental and fiduciary funds. The emphasis of fund financial statements is on major governmental funds, each displayed in a separate column.
The School District reports the following major governmental funds:
The general fund is the School District's primary operating fund. It accounts for and reports all financial resources not accounted for and reported in another fund.
The capital projects fund accounts for and reports financial resources including Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) that are restricted, committed or assigned for capital outlay expenditures, including the acquisition or construction of capital facilities and other capital assets.
The debt service fund accounts for and reports financial resources that are restricted, committed, or assigned including taxes (sales) legally restricted for the payment of general long-term principal and interest.
The School District reports the following fiduciary fund types:
Private purpose trust funds are used to report all trust arrangements, other than those properly reported elsewhere, in which principal and income benefit a scholarship for female students who attend Bleckley County High School.
Agency funds are used to report resources held by the School District in a purely custodial capacity (assets equal liabilities) and do not involve measurement of results of operations.
BASIS OF ACCOUNTING
The basis of accounting determines when transactions are reported on the financial statements. The government-wide and fiduciary fund financial statements are reported using the economic resources measurement focus and the accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are recorded when earned and expenses are recorded at the time liabilities are incurred, regardless of when the related cash flows take place. Nonexchange transactions, in which the School District gives (or receives) value without directly receiving (or giving) equal value in exchange, include property taxes, sales taxes, grants and donations. On an accrual basis, revenue from property taxes is recognized in the fiscal year for which the taxes are levied. Revenue from sales taxes is recognized in the fiscal year in which the underlying transaction (sale) takes place. Revenue from grants and donations is recognized in the fiscal year in which all eligibility requirements have been satisfied.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

The School District uses funds to report on its financial position and the results of its operations. Fund accounting is designed to demonstrate legal compliance and to aid financial management by segregating transactions related to certain governmental functions or activities. A fund is a separate accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts.
Governmental funds are reported using the current financial resources measurement focus and the modified accrual basis of accounting. Under this method, revenues are recognized when measurable and available. The School District considers all revenues reported in the governmental funds to be available if they are collected within sixty days after year-end. The School District considers all intergovernmental revenues to be available if they are collected within 120 days after year-end. Property taxes, sales taxes and interest are considered to be susceptible to accrual. Expenditures are recorded when the related fund liability is incurred, except for principal and interest on general longterm debt, which are recognized as expenditures to the extent they have matured. Capital asset acquisitions are reported as expenditures in governmental funds. Proceeds of general long-term liabilities are reported as other financing sources.
The School District funds certain programs by a combination of specific cost-reimbursement grants, categorical grants, and general revenues. Thus, when program costs are incurred, there are both restricted and unrestricted net assets available to finance the program. It is the School District's policy to first apply grant resources to such programs, followed by cost-reimbursement grants, then general revenues.
NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In fiscal year 2017, the School District adopted Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 77, Tax Abatement Disclosures. This statement requires governments that enter into tax abatement agreements to disclose the following information; (1) brief descriptive information, such as the tax being abated, the authority under which tax abatements are provided, eligibility criteria, the mechanism by which taxes are abated, provisions for recapturing abated taxes, and the types of commitments made by tax abatement recipients; (2) the gross dollar amount of taxes abated during the period; and (3) commitments made by a government, other than to abate taxes, as part of a tax abatement agreement. The adoption of this statement does not have a significant impact on the School District's financial statements.
In fiscal year 2017, the School District adopted Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 80, Blending Requirements for Certain Component Units an amendment of GASB Statement No. 14. This statement amends the blending requirements for the financial statement presentation of component units of all state and local governments. The additional criterion requires blending of a component unit incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in which the primary government is the sole corporate member. The additional criterion does apply to component units included in the financial reporting entity pursuant to the provisions of Statement No. 39, Determining Whether Certain Organization Are Component Units. The adoption of this statement does not have a significant impact on the School District's financial statements.
In fiscal year 2017, the School District adopted Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 82, Pension Issues an amendment of GASB Statements No. 67, No. 68 and No. 73. This statement addresses certain issues that have been raised with respect to Statements No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions, and No. 73, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions and Related Assets That Are Not within the Scope of GASB Statement No. 68, and Amendments to Certain Provisions of GASB Statements No. 67 and No. 68. Specifically, this statement addresses issues regarding (1) the presentation of payrollrelated measures in required supplementary information, (2) the selection of assumptions and the treatment of deviations from the guidance in an Actuarial Standard of Practice for financial reporting purposes, and (3) the classification of payments made by employers to satisfy employee (plan member) contribution requirements. The adoption of this statement does not have a significant impact on the School District's financial statements.
- 13 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand, demand deposits, investments in the State of Georgia local government investment pool (Georgia Fund 1) and short-term investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of acquisition in authorized financial institutions. Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) 45-8-14 authorizes the School District to deposit its funds in one or more solvent banks, insured Federal savings and loan associations or insured chartered building and loan associations.
INVESTMENTS
The School District can invest its funds as permitted by O.C.G.A. 36-83-4. In selecting among options for investment or among institutional bids for deposits, the highest rate of return shall be the objective, given equivalent conditions of safety and liquidity.
Investments made by the School District in nonparticipating interest-earning contracts (such as certificates of deposit) and repurchase agreements are reported at cost. Participating interest-earning contracts and money market investments with a maturity at purchase of one year or less are reported at amortized cost. All other investments are reported at fair value.
For accounting purposes, certificates of deposit are classified as investments if they have an original maturity greater than three months when acquired.
RECEIVABLES
Receivables consist of amounts due from property and sales taxes, grant reimbursements due on Federal, State or other grants for expenditures made but not reimbursed and other receivables disclosed from information available. Receivables are recorded when either the asset or revenue recognition criteria has been met. Receivables recorded on the basic financial statements do not include any amounts which would necessitate the need for an allowance for uncollectible receivables.
INVENTORIES
Food Inventories
On the basic financial statements, inventories of donated food commodities used in the preparation of meals are reported at their Federally assigned value and purchased foods inventories are reported at cost (calculated on the first-in, first-out basis). The School District uses the consumption method to account for inventories whereby donated food commodities are recorded as an asset and as revenue when received, and expenses/expenditures are recorded as the inventory items are used. Purchased foods are recorded as an asset when purchased and expenses/expenditures are recorded as the inventory items are used.
PREPAID ITEMS
Payments made to vendors for services that will benefit future accounting periods are recorded as prepaid items, in both the government-wide and governmental fund financial statements.
CAPITAL ASSETS
On the government-wide financial statements, capital assets are recorded at cost where historical records are available and at estimated historical cost based on appraisals or deflated current replacement cost where no historical records exist. Donated capital assets are recorded at the acquisition value on the date donated. The cost of normal maintenance and repairs that do not add to the value of assets or materially extend the useful lives of the assets is not capitalized. The School District does not capitalize book collections or works of art.
Capital acquisition and construction are recorded as expenditures in the governmental fund financial statements at the time of purchase (including ancillary charges), and the related assets are reported as capital assets in the governmental activities column in the government-wide financial statements.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Depreciation is computed using the straight-line for all assets, except land, and is used to allocate the actual or estimated historical cost of capital assets over estimated useful lives.
Capitalization thresholds and estimated useful lives of capital assets reported in the government-wide statements are as follows:

Capitalization Policy

Estimated Useful Life

Land Land Improvements Buildings and Improvements Equipment Intangible Assets

All

$

5,000.00

$

5,000.00

$

5,000.00

$ 200,000.00

N/A 20 to 80 Years 10 to 80 Years
5 to 50 Years 5 to 10 Years

DEFERRED OUTFLOWS/INFLOWS OF RESOURCES
In addition to assets, the statement of financial position will report a separate section for deferred outflows of resources. This separate financial statement element represents a consumption of resources that applies to a future period(s) and therefore will not be recognized as an outflow of resources (expense/expenditure) until then.
In addition to liabilities, the statement of financial position will report a separate section for deferred inflows of resources. This separate financial statement element represents an acquisition of resources that applies to a future period(s) and therefore will not be recognized as an inflow of resources (revenue) until that time.

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES AND BOND DISCOUNTS/PREMIUMS
In the School District's government-wide financial statements, outstanding debt is reported as liabilities. Bond premiums and discounts and the difference between the reacquisition price and the net carrying value of refunded debt are deferred and amortized over the life of the bonds using the straight-line method. To conform to generally accepted accounting principles, bond premiums and discounts should be amortized using the effective interest method. The effect of this deviation is deemed to be immaterial to the fair presentation of the basic financial statements. Bond issuance costs are recognized as an outflow of resources in the fiscal year in which the bonds are issued.
In the governmental fund financial statements, the School District recognizes the proceeds of debt and premiums as other financing sources of the current period. Bond issuance costs are reported as debt service expenditures.

PENSIONS
For purposes of measuring the net pension liability, deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions, and pension expense, information about the pension plan's fiduciary net position and additions to/deductions from the plan's fiduciary net position have been determined on the same basis as they are reported by the plan. For this purpose, benefit payments (including refunds of employee contributions) are recognized when due and payable in accordance with the benefit terms. Investments are reported at fair value.

FUND BALANCES
Fund balance for governmental funds is reported in classifications that comprise a hierarchy based primarily on the extent to which the government is bound to honor constraints on the specific purposes for which amounts in those funds can be spent.

- 15 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

The School District's fund balances are classified as follows:
Nonspendable consists of resources that cannot be spent either because they are in a nonspendable form or because they are legally or contractually required to be maintained intact.
Restricted consists of resources that can be used only for specific purposes pursuant constraints either (1) externally imposed by creditors, grantors, contributors, or laws and regulations of other governments or (2) imposed by law through constitutional provisions or enabling legislation.
Committed consists of resources that can be used only for specific purposes pursuant to constraints imposed by formal action of the Board. The Board is the School District's highest level of decisionmaking authority, and the formal action that is required to be taken to establish, modify, or rescind a fund balance commitment is a resolution approved by the Board. Committed fund balance also should incorporate contractual obligations to the extent that existing resources in the fund have been specifically committed for use in satisfying those contractual requirements.
Assigned consists of resources constrained by the School District's intent to be used for specific purposes, but are neither restricted nor committed. The intent should be expressed by (1) the Board or (2) the budget or finance committee, or the Superintendent, or designee, to assign amounts to be used for specific purposes.
Unassigned consists of resources within the general fund not meeting the definition of any aforementioned category. The general fund should be the only fund that reports a positive unassigned fund balance amount. In other governmental funds, it may be necessary to report a negative unassigned fund balance.
USE OF ESTIMATES
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results may differ from those estimates.
PROPERTY TAXES
The Bleckley County Board of Commissioners adopted the property tax levy for the 2016 tax digest year (calendar year) on October 12, 2016 (levy date) based on property values as of January 1, 2016. Taxes were due on December 20, 2016 (lien date). Taxes collected within the current fiscal year or within 60 days after year-end on the 2016 tax digest are reported as revenue in the governmental funds for fiscal year 2017. The Bleckley County Board of Commissioners bills and collects the property taxes for the School District, withholds 2.5% of taxes collected as a fee for tax collection and remits the balance of taxes collected to the School District. Property tax revenues, at the fund reporting level, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, for maintenance and operations amounted to $3,314,101.19.
The tax millage rate levied for the 2016 tax year (calendar year) for the School District was as follows (a mill equals $1 per thousand dollars of assessed value):

School Operations

14.349 mills

Additionally, Title Ad Valorem Tax revenues, at the fund reporting level, amounted to $289,486.60 during fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
SALES TAXES
Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), at the fund reporting level, during the year amounted to $971,724.04 and is to be used for capital outlay for educational purposes or debt service. This sales tax was authorized by local referendum and the sales tax must be re-authorized at least every five years.

- 16 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

NOTE 3: BUDGETARY DATA
The budget is a complete financial plan for the School District's fiscal year, and is based upon careful estimates of expenditures together with probable funding sources. The budget is legally adopted each year for the general, debt service and capital projects funds. There is no statutory prohibition regarding over expenditure of the budget at any level. The budget for all governmental funds is prepared and adopted by fund, function and object. The legal level of budgetary control was established by the Board at the aggregate fund level. The budget for the general fund was prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The budgetary process begins with the School District's administration presenting an initial budget for the Board's review. The administration makes revisions as necessary based on the Board's guidelines, and a tentative budget is approved. After approval of this tentative budget by the Board, such budget is advertised at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality, as well as the School District's website. At the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board after advertisement, the Board receives comments on the tentative budget, makes revisions as necessary and adopts a final budget. The approved budget is then submitted, in accordance with provisions of O.C.G.A. 20-2-167(c), to the Georgia Department of Education. The Board may increase or decrease the budget at any time during the year. All unexpended budget authority lapses at fiscal year-end.
The Superintendent is authorized by the Board to approve adjustments of no more than 10% of the amount budgeted for expenditures in any budget function for any fund. The Superintendent shall report any such adjustments to the Board. If expenditure of funds in any budget function for any fund is anticipated to be more than 25% of the budgeted amount, the Superintendent shall request Board approval for the budget amendment. Any position or expenditure not previously approved in the annual budget that exceeds $50,000.00 shall require Board approval unless the Superintendent deems the position or purchase an emergency. In such case, the expenditure shall be reported to the Board at its regularly scheduled meeting. Under no circumstance is the Superintendent or other staff person authorized to spend funds that exceed the total budget without approval by the Board.
See the General Fund Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances Budget to Actual in the Supplementary Information Section for a detail of any over/under expenditures during the fiscal year under review.
NOTE 4: DEPOSITS
COLLATERALIZATION OF DEPOSITS
O.C.G.A. 45-8-12 provides that there shall not be on deposit at any time in any depository for a time longer than ten days a sum of money which has not been secured by surety bond, by guarantee of insurance, or by collateral. The aggregate of the face value of such surety bond and the market value of securities pledged shall be equal to not less than 110% of the public funds being secured after the deduction of the amount of deposit insurance. If a depository elects the pooled method (O.C.G.A. 45-8-13.1) the aggregate of the market value of the securities pledged to secure a pool of public funds shall be not less than 110% of the daily pool balance.
Acceptable security for deposits consists of any one of or any combination of the following:
(1) Surety bond signed by a surety company duly qualified and authorized to transact business within the State of Georgia,
(2) Insurance on accounts provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
(3) Bonds, bills, notes, certificates of indebtedness or other direct obligations of the United States or of the State of Georgia,
(4) Bonds, bills, notes, certificates of indebtedness or other obligations of the counties or municipalities of the State of Georgia,

- 17 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

(5) Bonds of any public authority created by the laws of the State of Georgia, providing that the statute that created the authority authorized the use of the bonds for this purpose,
(6) Industrial revenue bonds and bonds of development authorities created by the laws of the State of Georgia, and
(7) Bonds, bills, notes, certificates of indebtedness, or other obligations of a subsidiary corporation of the United States government, which are fully guaranteed by the United States government both as to principal and interest or debt obligations issued by or securities guaranteed by the Federal Land Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, the Farm Credit Banks, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association, and the Federal National Mortgage Association.

CATEGORIZATION OF DEPOSITS
Custodial credit risk is the risk that in the event of a bank failure, the School District's deposits may not be returned to it. The School District does not have a deposit policy for custodial credit risk. At June 30, 2017, the School District had deposits with a carrying amount of $4,949,497.43, which includes $15,702.76 in certificates of deposit that are reported as investments, and a bank balance of $5,852,172.22. The bank balances insured by Federal depository insurance were $1,015,702.76 and the bank balances collateralized with securities held by the pledging financial institution in the School District's name were $4,836,469.46.

NOTE 5: CAPITAL ASSETS
The following is a summary of changes in the capital assets for governmental activities during the fiscal year:

Balances July 1, 2016

Increases

Decreases

Balances June 30, 2017

Governmental Activities Capital Assets, Not Being Depreciated:
Land Construction in Progress

$

259,480.81 $

-

- $ 83,591.29

- $ -

259,480.81 83,591.29

Total Capital Assets Not Being Depreciated

259,480.81

83,591.29

-

343,072.10

Capital Assets Being Depreciated Buildings and Improvements Equipment Land Improvements

41,681,641.63 3,880,145.95 1,629,164.39

93,060.36
-

48,331.53
-

41,681,641.63 3,924,874.78 1,629,164.39

Less Accumulated Depreciation for: Buildings and Improvements Equipment Land Improvements

9,863,644.68 2,773,128.18
595,487.48

834,312.84 237,370.96
49,083.74

-

10,697,957.52

-

3,010,499.14

-

644,571.22

Total Capital Assets, Being Depreciated, Net

33,958,691.63

(1,027,707.18)

48,331.53

32,882,652.92

Governmental Activity Capital Assets - Net $ 34,218,172.44 $

(944,115.89) $

48,331.53 $ 33,225,725.02

- 18 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Current year depreciation expense by function is as follows:

Instruction Support Services
Pupil Services General Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Food Services

$
$ 8,571.60 71,056.89 2,484.05 90,560.48

901,232.93
172,673.02 46,861.59

$ 1,120,767.54

NOTE 6: INTERFUND TRANSFERS INTERFUND TRANFERS
Interfund transfers for the year ended June 30, 2017, consisted of the following:

Transfers to

Transfers From General Fund

Debt Service Fund

$ 200,000.00

Transfers are used to move revenues collected by the general fund to the debt service fund to service debt associated with the ESPLOST referendum.

NOTE 7: SHORT-TERM DEBT
The School District issued a tax anticipation note in advance of property tax collections, depositing the proceeds in its general fund. This short-term debt is to provide cash for operations until property tax collections are received by the School District. Article IX, Section V, Paragraph V of the Constitution of the State of Georgia limits the aggregate amount of short-term debt to 75% of the total gross income from taxes collected in the preceding year and requires all short-term debt to be repaid no later than December 31 of the calendar year in which the debt was incurred.
Short-term debt activity for the fiscal year is as follows:

Beginning Balance

Issued

Redeemed

Ending Balance

Tax Anticipation Notes $

- $ 500,000.00 $ 500,000.00 $

-

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

NOTE 8: LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
The changes in long-term liabilities during the fiscal year for governmental activities, were as follows:

Balance July 1, 2016

Governmental Activities

Balance

Additions

Deductions

June 30, 2017

Due Within One Year

General Obligation Bonds Unamortized Bond Premiums

$ 6,520,000.00 $ 239,083.47

- $ 840,000.00 $ 5,680,000.00 $ 865,000.00

-

38,253.36

200,830.11

38,253.35

$ 6,759,083.47 $

- $ 878,253.36 $ 5,880,830.11 $ 903,253.35

GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT OUTSTANDING
The School District's bonded debt consists of various issues of general obligation bonds that are generally noncallable with interest payable semiannually. Bond proceeds primarily pay for acquiring or constructing capital facilities. The School District repays general obligation bonds from voterapproved sales taxes. General obligation bonds are direct obligations and pledge the full faith and credit of the School District.
General obligation bonds currently outstanding are as follows:

Description

Interest Rates Issue Date Maturity Date Amount Issued

Amount Outstanding

General Government - Series 2009 2.00% to 5.00% 12/1/2009 10/1/2022 $ 8,900,000.00 $ 5,680,000.00

The following schedule details debt service requirements to maturity for the School District's total general obligation bonds payable:

Fiscal Year Ended June 30:

General Obligation Debt

Principal

Interest

Unamortized Bond Premium

2018
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

$ 865,000.00 $ 215,543.75 $

895,000.00

186,943.75

920,000.00 960,000.00 1,000,000.00

154,000.00 118,800.00
77,000.00

1,040,000.00

26,000.00

38,253.35
38,253.35 38,253.35 38,253.35 38,253.35
9,563.36

Total Principal and Interest

$ 5,680,000.00 $ 778,287.50 $

200,830.11

- 20 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

NOTE 9: RISK MANAGEMENT
INSURANCE
Commercial Insurance
The School District is exposed to various risks of loss related to torts; theft of, damage to and destruction of assets; errors or omissions; job related illness or injuries to employees; natural disasters and unemployment compensation. Except as described below, the School District carries commercial insurance for these risks. Settled claims resulting from these insured risks have not exceeded commercial insurance coverage in any of the past three fiscal years.
Georgia School Boards Association Risk and Insurance Management System
The School District participates in the Georgia School Boards Association Risk and Insurance Management System (the System), a public entity risk pool organized on July 1, 1994, to develop and administer a plan to reduce risk of loss on account of general liability, motor vehicle liability, or property damage, including safety engineering and other loss prevention and control techniques, and to administer one or more groups of self-insurance funds, including the processing and defense of claims brought against members of the system. The School District pays an annual premium to the System for its general insurance coverage. Additional coverage is provided through agreements by the System with other companies according to their specialty for property, boiler and machinery (including coverage for flood and earthquake), general liability (including coverage for sexual harassment, molestation and abuse), errors and omissions, crime and automobile risks. Payment of excess insurance for the System varies by line of coverage.
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
The School District is self-insured with regard to unemployment compensation claims. The School District accounts for claims within the general fund with expenses/expenditures and liability being reported when it is probable that a loss has occurred, and the amount of that loss can be reasonably estimated.
The School District has had no unemployment claims in the past two fiscal years.
SURETY BOND
The School District purchased a surety bond to provide additional insurance coverage as follows:

Position Covered

Amount

Superintendent

$ 50,000.00

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

NOTE 10: FUND BALANCE CLASSIFICATION DETAILS
The School District's financial statements include the following amounts presented in the aggregate at June 30, 2017:

Nonspendable Inventories Prepaid Assets
Restricted Continuation of Federal Programs Capital Projects Debt Service
Unassigned

$ 51,938.71 46,613.77 $

98,552.48

$ 418,374.37 67,779.88
979,825.00

1,465,979.25 3,162,761.23

Fund Balance, June 30, 2017

$ 4,727,292.96

When multiple categories of fund balance are available for expenditure, the School District will start with the most restricted category and spend those funds first before moving down to the next category with available funds.
NOTE 11: BROADBAND SPECTRUM LEASE
Effective August 18, 2005, the School District entered into a five-year lease agreement, with automatic renewals, with Nextel Spectrum Acquisition Corporation for the lease of excess spectrum capacity on Education Broadband Service licenses currently held by School District. These licenses were granted to the School District by the Federal Communications Commission. The lease agreement requires monthly lease payments over the term of the lease, of which $28,459.44 was recognized during Fiscal Year 2017 as a general revenue on the Statement of Activities.

NOTE 12: SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENTS
COMMITMENTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS
The following is an analysis of significant outstanding construction or renovation contracts executed by the School District as of June 30, 2017:

Project

Unearned Executed Contracts (1)

Payments through June 30, 2017 (2)

Bleckley County High School Athletic Expansion

$

276,306.50 $

83,591.29

(1) The amounts described are not reflected in the basic financial statements. (2) Payments include Contracts and Retainages Payable at year-end.
OPERATING LEASES
The School District leases copiers under the provisions of one or more long-term lease agreements classified as operating leases for accounting purposes. Rental expenditures under the terms of the operating leases(s) totaled $21,616.30 for governmental activities for the year ended June 30, 2017.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

The following future minimum lease payments were required under operating leases at June 30, 2017:

Year Ending

Governmental Funds

2018 2019 2020 2021

$

18,040.28

12,314.52

10,929.44

2,583.63

Total

$

43,867.87

NOTE 13: SIGNIFICANT CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
FEDERAL GRANTS
Amounts received or receivable principally from the Federal government are subject to audit and review by grantor agencies. This could result in requests for reimbursement to the grantor agency for any costs which are disallowed under grant terms. Any disallowances resulting from the grantor audit may become a liability of the School District. However, the School District believes that such disallowances, if any, will be immaterial to its overall financial position.
NOTE 14: POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
GEORGIA SCHOOL PERSONNEL POST-EMPLOYMENT HEALTH BENEFIT FUND
P lan Description. The Georgia School Personnel Post-Employment Health Benefit Fund (School OPEB Fund) is a cost-sharing multiple-employer defined benefit post-employment healthcare plan that covers eligible former employees of public school systems, libraries and regional educational service agencies. The School OPEB Fund provides health insurance benefits to eligible former employees and their qualified beneficiaries through the State Employees Health Benefit Plan administered by the Department of Community Health. The Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) assigns the authority to establish and amend the benefit provisions of the group health plans, including benefits for retirees, to the Board of Community Health (Board). Additional information about the School OPEB Fund is disclosed in the State of Georgia Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. This report can be obtained from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts at www.audits.ga.gov/SGD/CAFR.html.
Funding P olicy. The contribution requirements of plan members and participating employers are established by the Board in accordance with the current Appropriations Act and may be amended by the Board. Contributions of plan members or beneficiaries receiving benefits vary based on plan election, dependent coverage, and Medicare eligibility and election. For members with fewer than five years of service as of January 1, 2012, contributions also vary based on years of service. On average, members with five years or more of service as of January 1, 2012 pay approximately 25% of the cost of the health insurance coverage. In accordance with the Board resolution dated December 8, 2011, for members with fewer than five years of service as of January 1, 2012, the State provides a premium subsidy in retirement that ranges from 0% for fewer than 10 years of service to 75% (but no greater than the subsidy percentage offered to active employees) for 30 or more years of service. The subsidy for eligible dependents ranges from 0% to 55% (but no greater than the subsidy percentage offered to dependents of active employees minus 20%). No subsidy is available to Medicare eligible members not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Option. The Board of Community Health sets all member premiums by resolution and in accordance with the law and applicable revenue and expense projections. Any subsidy policy adopted by the Board may be changed at any time by Board resolution and does not constitute a contract or promise of any amount of subsidy.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Participating employers are statutorily required to contribute in accordance with the employer contribution rates established by the Board. The contribution rates are established to fund all benefits due under the health insurance plans for both active and retired employees based on projected "payas-you-go" financing requirements. Contributions are not based on the actuarially calculated annual required contribution (ARC) which represents a level of funding that, if paid on an ongoing basis, is projected to cover normal cost each year and amortize any unfunded actuarial liabilities (or funding excess) over a period not to exceed thirty years.

The combined active and retiree contribution rates established by the Board for employers participating in the School OPEB Fund were as follows for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017:

For certificated teachers, librarians and regional educational service agencies and certain other eligible participants:

July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017

$945.00 per member per month

For non-certificated school personnel:

July 1, 2016 December 31, 2016 $746.20 per member per month

January 1, 2017 June 30, 2017 $846.20 per member per month

No additional contribution was required by the Board for fiscal year 2017 nor contributed to the School OPEB Fund to prefund retiree benefits. Such additional contribution amounts are determined annually by the Board in accordance with the School plan for other post-employment benefits and are subject to appropriation.

The School District's combined active and retiree contributions to the health insurance plans, which equaled the required contribution, for the current fiscal year and the preceding two fiscal years were as follows:

Fiscal Year

Percentage Contributed

Required Contribution

2017 2016 2015

100% 100% 100%

$ 2,352,428.00 $ 2,233,296.80 $ 2,108,601.40

NOTE 15: RETIREMENT PLANS
The School District participates in various retirement plans administered by the State of Georgia, as further explained below.

TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA (TRS)
P lan Description: All teachers of the School District as defined in O.C.G.A 47-3-60 and certain other support personnel as defined by 47-3-63 are provided a pension through the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS). TRS, a cost-sharing multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan, is administered by the TRS Board of Trustees (TRS Board). Title 47 of the O.C.G.A. assigns the authority to establish and amend the benefit provisions to the State Legislature. The Teachers Retirement System of Georgia issues a publicly available separate financial audit report that can be obtained at www.trsga.com/publications.
Benefits P rovided: TRS provides service retirement, disability retirement, and death benefits. Normal retirement benefits are determined as 2% of the average of the employee's two highest paid consecutive years of service, multiplied by the number of years of creditable service up to 40 years. An employee is eligible for normal service retirement after 30 years of creditable service, regardless of age, or after 10 years of service and attainment of age 60. Ten years of service is required for disability and death benefits eligibility. Disability benefits are based on the employee's creditable
- 24 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

service and compensation up to the time of disability. Death benefits equal the amount that would be payable to the employee's beneficiary had the employee retired on the date of death. Death benefits are based on the employee's creditable service and compensation up to the date of death.
Contributions: Per Title 47 of the O.C.G.A., contribution requirements of active employees and participating employers, as actuarially determined, are established and may be amended by the TRS Board. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. 47-3-63, the employer contributions for certain full-time public school support personnel are funded on behalf of the employer by the State of Georgia. Contributions are expected to finance the costs of benefits earned by employees during the year, with an additional amount to finance any unfunded accrued liability. Employees were required to contribute 6% of their annual pay during fiscal year 2017. The School District's contractually required contribution rate for the year ended June 30, 2016 was 14.27% of annual School District payroll, of which 14.04% of payroll was required from the School District and 0.23% of payroll was required from the State. For the current fiscal year, employer contributions to the pension plan were $1,834,059.26 and $32,553.48 from the School District and the State, respectively.
PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM (PSERS)
P lan description: PSERS is a cost-sharing multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan established by the Georgia General Assembly in 1969 for the purpose of providing retirement allowances for public school employees who are not eligible for membership in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia. The ERS Board of Trustees, plus two additional trustees, administers PSERS. Title 47 of the O.C.G.A. assigns the authority to establish and amend the benefit provisions to the State Legislature. PSERS issues a publicly available financial report that can be obtained at www.ers.ga.gov/formspubs/formspubs.
Benefits provided: A member may retire and elect to receive normal monthly retirement benefits after completion of ten years of creditable service and attainment of age 65. A member may choose to receive reduced benefits after age 60 and upon completion of ten years of service.
Upon retirement, the member will receive a monthly benefit of $14.75, multiplied by the number of years of creditable service. Death and disability benefits are also available through PSERS. Additionally, PSERS may make periodic cost-of-living adjustments to the monthly benefits. Upon termination of employment, member contributions with accumulated interest are refundable upon request by the member. However, if an otherwise vested member terminates and withdraws his/her member contribution, the member forfeits all rights to retirement benefits.
Contributions: The general assembly makes an annual appropriation to cover the employer contribution to PSERS on behalf of local school employees (bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and maintenance staff). The annual employer contribution required by statute is actuarially determined and paid directly to PSERS by the State Treasurer in accordance with O.C.G.A. 47-4-29(a) and 60(b). Contributions are expected to finance the costs of benefits earned by employees during the year, with an additional amount to finance any unfunded accrued liability.
Individuals who became members prior to July 1, 2012 contribute $4 per month for nine months each fiscal year. Individuals who became members on or after July 1, 2012 contribute $10 per month for nine months each fiscal year. The State of Georgia, although not the employer of PSERS members, is required by statute to make employer contributions actuarially determined and approved and certified by the PSERS Board of Trustees. The current fiscal year contribution was $56,782.00.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Pension Liabilities, Pension Expense, and Deferred Outflows of Resources and Deferred Inflows of Resources Related to Pensions
At June 30, 2017, the School District reported a liability of $23,281,388.00 for its proportionate share of the net pension liability for TRS.

The TRS net pension liability reflected a reduction for support provided to the School District by the State of Georgia for certain public school support personnel. The amount recognized by the School District as its proportionate share of the net pension liability, the related State of Georgia support, and the total portion of the net pension liability that was associated with the School District were as follows:

School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability $ 23,281,388.00

State of Georgia's proportionate share of the net pension liability associated with the School District

542,805.00

Total

$ 23,824,193.00

The net pension liability for TRS was measured as of June 30, 2016. The total pension liability used to calculate the net pension liability was based on an actuarial valuation as of June 30, 2015. An expected total pension liability as of June 30, 2016 was determined using standard roll-forward techniques. The School District's proportion of the net pension liability was based on contributions to TRS during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016.
At June 30, 2016, the School District's TRS proportion was 0.112846%, which was a decrease of 0.000963% from its proportion measured as of June 30, 2015.
At June 30, 2017, the School District did not have a PSERS liability for a proportionate share of the net pension liability because of a Special Funding Situation with the State of Georgia, which is responsible for the net pension liability of the plan. The amount of the State's proportionate share of the net pension liability associated with the School District is $405,517.00.
The PSERS net pension liability was measured as of June 30, 2016. The total pension liability used to calculate the net pension liability was based on an actuarial valuation as of June 30, 2015. An expected total pension liability as of June 30, 2016 was determined using standard roll-forward techniques. The State's proportion of the net pension liability associated with the School District was based on actuarially determined contributions paid by the State during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016.
For the year ended June 30, 2017, the School District recognized pension expense of $2,642,598.00 for TRS and $66,479.00 for PSERS and revenue of $70,842.00 for TRS and $66,479.00 for PSERS. The revenue is support provided by the State of Georgia. For TRS the State of Georgia support is provided only for certain support personnel.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

At June 30, 2017, the School District reported deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions from the following sources:

TRS

Deferred

Deferred

Outflows of

Inflows of

Resources

Resources

Differences between expected and actual experience

$

346,830.00

115,127.00

Changes of assumptions
Net difference between projected and actual earnings on pension plan investments
Changes in proportion and differences between School District contributions and proportionate share of contributions
School District contributions subsequent to the measurement date

603,421.00

-

2,945,191.00

-

286,307.00

129,443.00

1,834,059.26

-

Total

$ 6,015,808.26 $ 244,570.00

The School District contributions subsequent to the measurement date of $1,834,059.26 for TRS are reported as deferred outflows of resources and will be recognized as a reduction of the net pension liability in the year ended June 30, 2018. Other amounts reported as deferred outflows of resources and deferred inflows of resources related to pensions will be recognized in pension expense as follows:

Year Ended June 30:

TRS

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

$ 531,954.00

$ 531,953.00

$ 1,713,062.00

$ 1,121,125.00

$

39,085.00

Actuarial assum ptions: The total pension liability as of June 30, 2016 was determined by an actuarial valuation as of June 30, 2015, using the following actuarial assumptions, applied to all periods included in the measurement:

Teachers Retirement System:
Inflation Salary increases Investment rate of return

2.75%
3.25% 9.00%, average, including inflation
7.50%, net of pension plan investment expense, including inflation

- 27 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Post-retirement mortality rates were based on the RP-2000 White Collar Mortality Table with future mortality improvement projected to 2025 with the Society of Actuaries' projection scale BB (set forward one year for males) for service requirements and dependent beneficiaries. The RP-2000 Disabled Mortality table with future mortality improvement projected to 2025 with Society of Actuaries' projection scale BB (set forward two years for males and four years for females) was used for the death after disability retirement. Rates of mortality in active service were based on the RP-2000 Employee Mortality Table projected to 2025 with projection scale BB.
The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2015 valuation were based on the results of an actuarial experience study for the period July 1, 2009 June 30, 2014.

Public School Employees Retirement System:

Inflation

2.75%

Salary increases

N/A

Investment rate of return

7.50%, net of pension plan investment expense, including inflation

Post-retirement mortality rates were based on the RP-2000 Blue-Collar Mortality Table projected to 2025 with projection scale BB (set forward 3 years for males and 2 years for females) for the period after service retirements and for dependent beneficiaries. The RP-2000 Disabled Mortality projected to 2025 with projection scale BB (set forward 5 years for both males and females) was used for death after disability retirement. There is a margin for future mortality improvement in the tables used by the System. Based on the results of the most recent experience study adopted by the Board on December 17, 2015, the numbers of expected future deaths are 9-11% less than the actual number of deaths that occurred during the study period for healthy retirees and 9-11% less than expected under the selected table for disabled retirees. Rates of mortality in active service were based on the RP-2000 Employee Mortality Table projected to 2025 with projection scale BB.
The actuarial assumptions used in the June 30, 2015 valuation were based on the results of an actuarial experience study for the period July 1, 2009 June 30, 2014.
The long-term expected rate of return on TRS and PSERS pension plan investments was determined using a log-normal distribution analysis in which best-estimate ranges of expected future real rates of return (expected returns, net of pension plan investment expense and inflation) are developed for each major asset class. These ranges are combined to produce the long-term expected rate of return by weighting the expected future real rates of return by the target asset allocation percentage and by adding expected inflation. The target asset allocation and best estimates of arithmetic real rates of return for each major asset class are summarized in the following table:

Asset class
Fixed income Domestic large stocks Domestic mid stocks Domestic small stocks International developed market stocks International emerging market stocks Alternative
Total
* Rates shown are net of the 2.75% assumed rate of inflation

TRS Target allocation
30.00% 39.80%
3.70% 1.50% 19.40% 5.60%
-
100.00%

PSERS Target allocation
30.00% 37.20%
3.40% 1.40% 17.80% 5.20% 5.00%
100.00%

Long-term expected real rate of return*
(0.50)% 9.00% 12.00% 13.50% 8.00% 12.00% 10.50%

- 28 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
JUNE 30, 2017

EXHIBIT "I"

Discount rate: The discount rate used to measure the total TRS and PSERS pension liability was 7.50%. The projection of cash flows used to determine the discount rate assumed that plan member contributions will be made at the current contribution rate and that employer and nonemployer contributions will be made at rates equal to the difference between actuarially determined contribution rates and the member rate. Based on those assumptions, the TRS and PSERS pension plan's fiduciary net position was projected to be available to make all projected future benefit payments of current plan members. Therefore, the long-term expected rate of return on pension plan investments was applied to all periods of projected benefit payments to determine the total pension liability.

Sensitivity of the School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability to changes in the discount rate: The following presents the School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability calculated using the discount rate of 7.50%, as well as what the School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability would be if it were calculated using a discount rate that
is 1-percentage-point lower (6.50%) or 1-percentage-point higher (8.50%) than the current rate:

Teachers Retirement System:

1% Decrease (6.50%)

Current Discount Rate (7.50%)

1% Increase (8.50%)

School District's proportionate share of the net

pension liability

$ 36,237,768.00 $

23,281,388.00 $ 12,613,945.00

P ension plan fiduciary net position: Detailed information about the pension plan's fiduciary net position is available in the separately issued TRS and PSERS financial report which is publically
available at www.trsga.com/publications and http://www.ers.ga.gov/formspubs/formspubs.html.

NOTE 16: RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
During the year under review, the School District conducted business with one related party, Rozier Auto Parts. Rozier Auto Parts is owned by the Finance Director's husband's family. Current year expenditures for Rozier Auto Parts totaled $7,346.65.

.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SCHEDULE OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30

SCHEDULE "1"

Year Ended

School District's proportion of the net
pension liability

School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability

State of Georgia's proportionate share of the
net pension liability associated with the
School District

2017 2016 2015

0.112846% $ 0.113809% $ 0.113422% $

23,281,388.00 $ 17,326,290.00 $ 14,329,374.00 $

542,805.00 $ 412,723.00 $ 329,613.00 $

Total
23,824,193.00 17,739,013.00 14,658,987.00

School District's covered payroll

School District's proportionate share of the net pension
liability as a percentage of its covered payroll

Plan fiduciary net position as a
percentage of the total pension liability

$ 12,667,465.64 $ 12,299,400.07 $ 11,837,505.64

183.79% 140.87% 121.05%

76.06% 81.44% 84.03%

This schedule is intended to show information for 10 years. Additional years will be displayed as they become available.

- 31 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SCHEDULE OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE NET PENSION LIABILITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30

SCHEDULE "2"

Year Ended

School District's proportion of the
net pension liability

School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability

State of Georgia's proprotionate share of the
net pension liaibility associated with the
School District

2017 2016 2015

0.00% $ 0.00% $ 0.00% $

-

$

-

$

-

$

405,517.00 $ 267,010.00 $ 239,626.00 $

Total

School District's covered payroll

School District's proportionate share of the net pension liability as a percentage of its
covered payroll

Plan fiduciary net position as a
percentage of the total pension liability

405,517.00 $ 267,010.00 $ 239,626.00 $

698,123.79 688,106.87 688,182.25

N/A

81.00%

N/A

87.00%

N/A

88.29%

This schedule is intended to show information for 10 years. Additional years will be displayed as they become available.

- 32 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
SCHEDULE OF CONTRIBUTIONS TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30

SCHEDULE "3"

Year Ended

Contractually required contribution

Contributions in relation to the contractually required
contribution

Contribution deficiency (excess)

2017

$

1,834,059.26 $

1,834,059.26 $

-

2016

$

1,767,095.82 $

1,767,095.82 $

-

2015

$

1,579,743.81 $

1,579,743.81 $

-

School District's covered payroll
$ 13,064,761.59 $ 12,667,465.64 $ 12,299,400.07

Contribution as a percentage of covered
payroll
14.04% 13.95% 12.84%

This schedule is intended to show information for 10 years. Additional years will be displayed as they become available.

- 33 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION NOTES TO THE REQUIRED SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

SCHEDULE "4"

Teachers Retirement System
Changes of assumptions: In 2010 and later, the expectation of retired life mortality was changed to the RP 2000 Mortality Tables rather than the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table, which was used prior to 2010. In 2010, rates of withdrawal, retirement, disability and mortality were adjusted to more closely reflect actual experience. In 2010, assumed rates of salary increase were adjusted to more closely reflect actual and anticipated experience.
On November 18, 2015, the Board ado-pted recommended changes to the economic and demographic assumptions utilized by the System. Primary among the changes were the updates to rates of mortality, retirement, disability, withdrawal and salary increases. The expectation of retired life mortality was changed to RP 2000 White Collar Mortality Table with future mortality improvement projected to 2025 with the Society of Actuaries' projection scale BB (set forward one year for males).
Public School Employees Retirement System
Changes of assumptions: In 2010 and later, the expectation of retired life mortality was changed to the RP 2000 Mortality Tables rather than the 1994 Group Annuity Mortality Table, which was used prior to 2010. In 2010, rates of withdrawal, retirement, disability and mortality were adjusted to more closely reflect actual experience.
On December 17, 2- 015, the Board adopted recommended changes to the economic and demographic assumptions utilized by the System. Primary among the changes were the updates to rates of mortality, retirement and withdrawal. The expectation of retired life mortality was changed to the RP 2000 Blue Collar Mortality Table projected to 2025 with projection scale BB (set forward 3 years for males and 2 years for females).

- 34 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION GENERAL FUND
SCHEDULE OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES BUDGET AND ACTUAL
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

SCHEDULE "5"

REVENUES
Property Taxes Sales Taxes State Funds Federal Funds Charges for Services Investment Earnings Miscellaneous
Total Revenues
EXPENDITURES
Current Instruction Support Services Pupil Services Improvement of Instructional Services Educational Media Services General Administration School Administration Business Administration Maintenance and Operation of Plant Student Transportation Services Central Support Services Other Support Services Community Service Operations Food Services Operation
Total Expenditures
Excess of Revenues over (under) Expenditures
OTHER FINANCING USES
Other Uses
Net Change in Fund Balances
Fund Balances - Beginning
Adjustments

NONAPPROPRIATED BUDGETS

ORIGINAL (1)

FINAL (1)

$

3,723,323.00 $

3,723,323.00 $

36,000.00

36,000.00

16,154,788.73

16,512,032.48

3,202,738.93

4,680,856.93

239,800.00

239,800.00

4,500.00

4,500.00

269,600.00

269,600.00

23,630,750.66

25,466,112.41

13,787,227.80
808,320.04 473,455.02 371,590.45 521,513.33 1,329,304.80 162,127.90 1,659,067.38 1,311,409.83
38,697.35 262,003.19
47,997.60 1,836,960.61
22,609,675.30
1,021,075.36

15,619,874.05
881,694.04 684,284.02 371,590.45 530,891.33 1,371,432.80 162,127.90 1,695,669.28 1,446,082.08
38,697.35 262,803.36
47,997.60 1,836,960.61
24,950,104.87
516,007.54

(50,000.00) 971,075.36 3,058,377.71
(3,045.12)

(50,000.00) 466,007.54 3,058,377.71
15,988.93

ACTUAL AMOUNTS

VARIANCE OVER/UNDER

3,613,669.10 $ 44,969.18
16,746,083.02 4,149,443.80 400,210.70 6,298.96 816,161.14

(109,653.90) 8,969.18
234,050.54 (531,413.13) 160,410.70
1,798.96 546,561.14

25,776,835.90

310,723.49

15,614,051.53
979,124.19 427,267.06 382,065.26 630,815.46 1,500,287.77 177,302.50 1,688,098.50 1,471,019.07
27,506.72 234,514.64
42,029.41 1,893,075.46
25,067,157.57
709,678.33

5,822.52
(97,430.15) 257,016.96 (10,474.81) (99,924.13) (128,854.97) (15,174.60)
7,570.78 (24,936.99) 11,190.63 28,288.72
5,968.19 (56,114.85)
(117,052.70)
193,670.79

(200,000.00) 509,678.33 3,170,009.75
-

(150,000.00) 43,670.79
111,632.04 (15,988.93)

Fund Balances - Ending

$

4,026,407.95 $

3,540,374.18 $

3,679,688.08 $ 139,313.90

Notes to the Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances Budget and Actual
(1) Original and Final Budget amounts do not include budgeted revenues or expenditures of the various principal accounts. The actual revenues and expernditures of the various principal accounts are $643,807.04 and $641,038.92, respectively.
The accompanying schedule of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances budget and actual is presented on the modified accrual basis of accounting which is the basis of accounting used in the presentation of the fund financial statements.

See notes to the basic financial statements.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

SCHEDULE "6"

FUNDING AGENCY PROGRAM/GRANT
Agriculture, U. S. Department of Child Nutrition Cluster Pass-Through From Georgia Department of Education Food Services School Breakfast Program National School Lunch Program
Total U. S. Department of Agriculture
Education, U. S. Department of Special Education Cluster Pass-Through From Georgia Department of Education Special Education Grants to States Grants to States Preschool Grants
Total Special Education Cluster
Other Programs Pass-Through From Georgia Department of Education Career and Technical Education - Basic Grants to States Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Rural Education Rural Education Striving Readers Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers
Total Other Programs
Total U. S. Department of Education
Health and Human Services, U. S. Department of Direct Rural Health Development Network Grant

CFDA NUMBER

PASSTHROUGH
ENTITY ID
NUMBER

EXPENDITURES IN PERIOD

10.553 10.555

17175GA324N1099 $ 17175GA324N1100

403,091.18 1,412,585.61
1,815,676.79

84.027 84.027 84.173

H027A150073 H027A160073 H173A160081

91,009.00 432,380.00
23,946.00
547,335.00

84.048 84.367 84.358 84.358 84.371 84.010 84.010 84.287 84.287

V048A160010 S367A160001 S358B150010 S358B160010 S371C110049 S010A150010 S010A160010 S287C150010 S287C160010

24,585.49 20,792.31
1,574.00 44,144.72 759,887.30 79,837.00 465,328.39 42,063.84 287,611.67
1,725,824.72
2,273,159.72

93.912

D06RH27765-02-01

246,113.53

Total Expenditures of Federal Awards N/A = Not Available

$

4,334,950.04

Notes to the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards
Note 1. Basis of Presentation
The accompanying schedule of expenditures of federal awards (the "Schedule") includes the federal award activity of the Bleckley County Board of Education (the "Board") under programs of the federal government for the year ended June 30, 2017. The information in this Schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of the Board, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position or changes in net position of the Board.
Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the modified accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following, as applicable, either the cost principles in OMB Circular A-87, Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments , or the cost principles contained in Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards , wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. The Board has elected not to use the 10-percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under the Uniform Guidance.

See notes to the basic financial statements.

- 36 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF STATE REVENUE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
AGENCY/FUNDING
GRANTS Bright From the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Pre-Kindergarten Program
Education, Georgia Department of Quality Basic Education Direct Instructional Cost Kindergarten Program Kindergarten Program - Early Intervention Program Primary Grades (1-3) Program Primary Grades - Early Intervention (1-3) Program Upper Elementary Grades (4-5) Program Upper Elementary Grades - Early Intervention (4-5) Program Middle School (6-8) Program High School General Education (9-12) Program Vocational Laboratory (9-12) Program Special Education Programs Gifted Student - Category VI Remedial Education Program Alternative Education Program Media Center Program 20 Days Additional Instruction Staff and Professional Development Indirect Cost Central Administration School Administration Facility Maintenance and Operations Amended Formula Adjustment Categorical Grants Pupil Transportation Regular Nursing Services Education Equalization Funding Grant Other State Programs Food Services Math and Science Supplements Preschool Handicapped Program Principal Staff and Professional Development Pupil Transportation - State Bonds Teacher of the Year Teachers Retirement Vocational Education Vocational Supervisors
Human Services, Georgia Department of Family Advocate Program Family Connection
Office of the Governor Public School Employees Retirement
Office of the State Treasurer Connections in Classrooms
See notes to the basic financial statements.

SCHEDULE "7"

GOVERNMENTAL FUND TYPE GENERAL FUND

$

716,903.00

763,552.00 145,523.00 1,749,837.00 602,690.00 715,677.00 423,221.00 1,394,457.00 1,373,258.00 435,065.00 2,408,012.00 659,461.00 205,852.00 110,582.00 283,170.00
83,939.00 50,310.00
479,660.00 687,852.00 648,781.00 (200,102.00)
378,481.00 46,216.00
2,089,204.00
44,714.00 10,555.98 56,264.00
1,379.00 77,216.25
507.25 32,553.48 52,140.85
6,653.00
66,232.21 47,000.00
56,782.00
42,484.00
$ 16,746,083.02

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF APPROVED LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX PROJECTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

SCHEDULE "8"

PROJECT
The issuance of general obligation bonds in the principal amount not to exceed $9,000,000.00 to pay the costs of,
(a) acquiring, constructing, and equipping a new Bleckley County Middle School.
(b) renovating, improving, constructing and equipping new and existing school buildings, athletic facilities and other educational facilities.
(c) the acquisition of any property, both real and personal, and equipment necessary in connection with the above described capital outlay projects, together with school buses, maintenance vehicles and equipment computers and related technology, textbooks, vocational, fine arts, physical education and athletic equipment and safety and security equipment, and;
(d) the costs of issuance of the Bonds including capitalized interest.
(e) a portion of the principal and interest on the above described general obligation bonds.

ORIGINAL ESTIMATED
COST (1)

CURRENT ESTIMATED COSTS (2)

AMOUNT EXPENDED IN CURRENT YEAR (3) (4)

AMOUNT EXPENDED IN PRIOR YEARS (3) (4)

TOTAL COMPLETION
COST

EXCESS PROCEEDS NOT
EXPENDED

ESTIMATED COMPLETION
DATE

$

- $

-

- $ -

- $ 9,493,942.55 $ 9,493,942.55 $

-

225,167.75

225,167.75

-

Complete

-

Complete

-

-

-

-

7,000,000.00

10,079,970.30

$ 7,000,000.00 $ 10,079,970.30 $

-

5,235.00

5,235.00

-

355,625.00

355,625.00

-

-

-

- $ 10,079,970.30 $ 10,079,970.30 $

-

Complete

-

Complete

-

Complete

-

(1) The School District's original cost estimate as specified in the resolution calling for the imposition of the Local Option Sales Tax.

(2) The School District's current estimate of total cost for the projects. Includes all cost from project inception to completion.

(3) The voters of Bleckley County approved the imposition of a 1% sales tax to fund the above projects and retire associated debt. Amounts expended for these projects may include sales tax proceeds, state, local property taxes and/or other funds over the life of the projects.

(4) In addition to the expenditures shown above, the School District has incurred interest to provide advance funding for the above projects as follows:

Prior Years

$ 1,787,220.50

Current Year

242,200.00

Total

$ 2,029,420.50

See notes to the basic financial statements.

- 39 -

SECTION II COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL CONTROL REPORTS

Greg S. Griffin
STATE AUDITOR
(404) 656-2174

DEPARTMENT OF AUDITS AND ACCOUNTS
270 Washington Street, S.W., Suite 1-156 Atlanta, Georgia 30334-8400
November 30, 2018

The Honorable Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia Members of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia Members of the State Board of Education
and Superintendent and Members of the Bleckley County Board of Education

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING AND ON COMPLIANCE AND OTHER MATTERS BASED ON AN AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PERFORMED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT AUDITING STANDARDS

We have audited, in accordance with the auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America and the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States, the financial statements of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the Bleckley County Board of Education (School District), as of and for the year ended June 30, 2017, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the School District's basic financial statements, and have issued our report thereon dated November 30, 2018.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements, we considered the School District's internal control over financial reporting (internal control) to determine the audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing our opinions on the financial statements, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the School District's internal control. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the School District's internal control.
Our consideration of internal control was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph of this section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies and therefore, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may exist that were not identified. However, as described in the accompanying Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs, we identified certain deficiencies in internal control that we consider to be a material weakness and significant deficiencies.
A deficiency in internal control exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect and correct misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity's financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. We consider the deficiency described in the accompanying Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs as item FS 2017-002, to be a material weakness.

A significant deficiency is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance. We consider the deficiencies described in the accompanying Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs as items FS 2017-001 and FS 2017-003 to be significant deficiencies.
Compliance and Other Matters
As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the School District's financial statements are free from material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts. However, providing an opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.
School District's Response to Findings
The School District's response to the findings identified in our audit is described in the accompanying Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs. The School District's response was not subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the financial statements and, accordingly, we express no opinion on it.
Purpose of this Report
The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the School District's internal control or on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the School District's internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg S. Griffin State Auditor

Greg S. Griffin
STATE AUDITOR
(404) 656-2174

DEPARTMENT OF AUDITS AND ACCOUNTS
270 Washington Street, S.W., Suite 1-156 Atlanta, Georgia 30334-8400
November 30, 2018

The Honorable Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia Members of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia Members of the State Board of Education
and Superintendent and Members of the Bleckley County Board of Education

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT ON COMPLIANCE FOR EACH MAJOR FEDERAL PROGRAM AND ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER COMPLIANCE REQUIRED BY THE UNIFORM GUIDANCE

Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program
We have audited the Bleckley County Board of Education (School District) compliance with the types of compliance requirements described in the OMB Compliance Supplement that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major federal programs for the year ended June 30, 2017. The School District's major federal programs are identified in the Summary of Auditor's Results section of the accompanying Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs.
Management's Responsibility
Management is responsible for compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of its federal awards applicable to its federal programs.
Auditor's Responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on compliance for each of the School District's major federal programs based on our audit of the types of compliance requirements referred to above. We conducted our audit of compliance in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America; the standards applicable to financial audits contained in Government Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; and the audit requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Those standards and the Uniform Guidance require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether noncompliance with the types of compliance requirements referred to above that could have a direct and material effect on a major federal program occurred. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence about the School District's compliance with those requirements and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.
We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion on compliance for each major federal program. However, our audit does not provide a legal determination of the School District's compliance.

Opinion on Each Major Federal Program
In our opinion, the School District complied, in all material respects, with the types of compliance requirements referred to above that could have a direct and material effect on each of its major federal programs for the year ended June 30, 2017.
Report on Internal Control over Compliance
Management of the School District is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over compliance with the types of compliance requirements referred to above. In planning and performing our audit of compliance, we considered the School District's internal control over compliance with the types of requirements that could have a direct and material effect on each major federal program to determine the auditing procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances for the purpose of expressing an opinion on compliance for each major federal program and to test and report on internal control over compliance in accordance with the Uniform Guidance, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over compliance. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the School District's internal control over compliance.
A deficiency in internal control over compliance exists when the design or operation of a control over compliance does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, noncompliance with a type of compliance requirement of a federal program on a timely basis. A material weakness in internal control over compliance is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over compliance, such that there is a reasonable possibility that material noncompliance with a type of compliance requirement of a federal program will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. A significant deficiency in internal control over compliance is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over compliance with a type of compliance requirement of a federal program that is less severe than a material weakness in internal control over compliance, yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.
Our consideration of internal control over compliance was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph of this section and was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control over compliance that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies. We did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over compliance that we consider to be material weaknesses. However, material weaknesses may exist that have not been identified.
The purpose of this report on internal control over compliance is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control over compliance and the results of that testing based on the requirements of the Uniform Guidance. Accordingly, this report is not suitable for any other purpose.
Respectfully submitted,
Greg S. Griffin State Auditor

SECTION III AUDITEE'S RESPONSE TO PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AUDITEE'S RESPONSE
SUMMARY SCHEDULE OF PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

PRIOR YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

FS 2015-001 Control Category:
Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact:

Control Procedure at the Central Office Accounting Controls (OVERALL) Cash and Cash Equivalents Capital Assets Employee Compensation Expenditures/Liabilities/Disbursements General Ledger Significant Deficiency None

Finding Status:

Partially Resolved

Due to limited size, we are unable to separate duties as recommended and/or required. In fiscal year 2018, the Finance Director started initialing all deposit slips to ensure accuracy of the deposit taken to the bank by the secretary. We have also added one employee to our payroll department. Duties will be split between payroll and human resources.

FS 2015-002 Control Category: Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact:

Controls over Financial Reporting Financial Reporting Significant Deficiency None

Finding Status:

Unresolved

Finance Director has more experience from year to year preparing financial statements. We attend all trainings provided by Department of Education and Department of Audits to help with this process. In fiscal year 2018, an extra review step will be put into place to ensure accuracy of financial statements before submission.

FS-2016-001 Control Category:
Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact:

Internal Controls at the Central Office Accounting Controls (Overall) Expenditures/Liabilities/Disbursements General Ledger Significant Deficiency None

Finding Status:

Partially Resolved

Due to limited size, we are unable to separate duties as recommended and/or required. In fiscal year 2018, the Finance Director started initialing all deposit slips to ensure accuracy of the deposit taken to the bank by the secretary. We have also added one employee to our payroll department. Duties will be split between payroll and human resources.

- 1 -

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AUDITEE'S RESPONSE
SUMMARY SCHEDULE OF PRIOR YEAR FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

PRIOR YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

FS-2016-002 Control Category: Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact:

Internal Controls over Financial Reporting Financial Reporting Material Weakness None

Finding Status:

Unresolved

Finance Director has more experience from year to year preparing financial statements. We attend all trainings provided by Department of Education and Department of Audits to help with this process. In fiscal year 2018, an extra review step will be put into place to ensure accuracy of financial statements before submission.

FS-2016-003 Control Category:
Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact:

Internal Control Procedures over School Activity Accounts Revenues/Receivables/Receipts Expenditures/Liabilities/Disbursements Funds Held for Others Significant Deficiency None

Finding Status:

Unresolved

Due to limited number of staff, we are unable to separate duties between more employees. In fiscal year 2017, as well as fiscal year 2018, we will continue to have bookkeepers reconcile each other's bank accounts with principal review. Principals will continue to review all account balances quarterly. Fiscal year 2018 financial statements will reflect a change in agency and governmental accounts, where all have been reviewed and reclassified as needed. Secretaries at each school will also sign off on deposit slips to ensure deposit accuracy.

PRIOR YEAR FEDERAL AWARD FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS No matters were reported.

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SECTION IV FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

I SUMMARY OF AUDITOR'S RESULTS

Financial Statements

Type of auditor's report issue: Governmental Activities; General Fund; Capital Projects Fund; Debt Service Fund; Aggregate Remaining Fund Information
Internal control over financial reporting: Material weakness identified? Significant deficiencies identified?
Noncompliance material to financial statements noted:

Unmodified
Yes Yes No

Federal Awards
Internal Control over major programs: Material weakness identified? Significant deficiency identified?

No None Reported

Type of auditor's report issued on compliance for major programs: All major programs

Unmodified

Any audit findings disclosed that are required to be reported in

accordance with 2 CFR 200.516(a)?

No

Identification of major programs:

CFDA Numbers

Name of Federal Program or Cluster

10.553, 10.555 84.371

Child Nutrition Cluster Striving Readers

Dollar threshold used to distinguish between Type A and Type B programs:

$750,000.00

Auditee qualified as low-risk auditee?

No

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

II FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

FS 2017-001 Control Categories:
Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact: Repeat of Prior Year Finding:

Internal Controls at the Central Office Accounting Controls (OVERALL) Revenues/Receivables/Receipts Employee Compensation General Ledger Significant Deficiency None FS 2016-001, FS 2015-001

Description: The accounting procedures of the School District were insufficient to provide adequate internal controls at the central office.

Criteria: The School District's management is responsible for designing and maintaining internal controls that provide reasonable assurance that transactions are processed according to established procedures.

Condition: Accounting Controls (OVERALL)
The School District does not have adequate logical access controls in place to ensure only appropriate users have access to their significant financial application and school food service point of sale system. For the financial application, we noted several users with access rights that exceeded their need to complete their assigned job functions. Further, the access granted did not adequately separate the functions of initiating, authorizing, and recording transactions, reconciliations, and maintaining the custody of assets. In addition, the School District does not have a formal policy for requesting, granting, modifying and removing user access from the school food service point of sale system, and the school food service point of sale system also lacked documentation supporting an annual review of user access.
The School District did not perform a job restore for the financial application to ensure data backed up is recoverable.
The School District did not update its Risk Assessment for the year under audit.

Revenues Grants were not properly monitored to ensure that excess funds were deferred or returned to grantor.

Employee Compensation
Our examination of twenty-four employees' salaries revealed the following deficiencies: o A one-time special supplement offered to employees was not approved by the Board prior to payment. o Seven employees were overpaid due to their extended year being calculated based on a different number of days than were approved by the Board in a calendar change. o One employee was overpaid due to receiving the full amount of a special supplement while only meeting the qualifications for half. o One employee's salary could not be documented as approved. o One employee received additional pay, although two timesheets were not properly approved and one could not be located. o One employee's additional payments did not agree to pay scales.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

II FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

General Ledger Our examination of twenty-seven journal entries revealed five journal entries were not adequately documented.

Cause: In discussing this deficiency with the School District, they stated that these issues were a result of a lack of separation of duties and internal control procedures within the finance department.

Effect or Potential Effect: Without satisfactory accounting controls and procedures in place, the School District could place itself in a position where potential misappropriation of assets could occur. In addition, the lack of controls impacted its reporting of financial position and results of operations.

Recommendation: The School District should review accounting procedures in place and design and implement procedures relative to the above control categories to strengthen the internal controls over the accounting functions. Management should ensure that proper separation of duties exists. In the case when management determines that separation of duties is not cost beneficial, management should implement compensating controls that assist in assuring that transactions are properly processed and reported.

Views of Responsible Officials:

FS 2017-002 Control Categories: Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact: Repeat of Prior Year Finding:

Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting Financial Reporting Material Weakness None FS 2016-002, FS 2015-002

Description: The School District did not have adequate internal controls in place over the financial statement reporting process. The original financial statements, as presented for audit, contained material and significant errors and omissions.

Criteria: The School District is required to maintain a system of controls over the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The School District's internal controls over GAAP financial reporting should include adequately trained personnel with the knowledge, skills and experience to prepare GAAP based financial statements and include all disclosures as required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements Management's Discussion and Analysis - for State and Local Governments (Statement), requires governments to present government-wide and fund financial statements as well as a summary reconciliation of the (a) total governmental fund balances to the net position of governmental activities in the Statement of Net Position, and (b) total change in governmental fund balances to the change in the net position of governmental activities in the Statement of Activities. In addition, the statement requires information about the government's major and nonmajor funds in the aggregate, to be provided in the fund financial statements.

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
II FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
Chapter II-2 Annual Financial Reporting of the Financial Management for Georgia Local Units of Administration provides that School Districts must prepare their financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Condition: The following errors and omissions were noted in the School District's financial statements, note disclosures and supplementary information presented for audit:
A material audit adjustment totaling $17,326,290.00 was proposed and accepted by the client to correctly present net pension liability and deferred inflows related to the defined benefit pension plan on the government-wide financial statements.
A material reclassification audit adjustment totaling $4,519,302.32 was proposed an accepted by the client to correctly present net position on the government-wide financial statements.
An audit adjustment totaling $11,967.79 was proposed and accepted by the client to move governmental funds incorrectly recorded in the agency fund to the general fund.
An audit adjustment totaling $129,443.00 was proposed and accepted by the client to correctly present deferred inflows related to defined benefit pension plan and deferred outflows related to defined benefit pension plan on the government-wide financial statements.
An audit adjustment totaling $66,298.50 was proposed and accepted by the client to correctly present accounts payable and expenditures on the general fund financial statements and contracts payable and expenditures on the capital projects fund financial statements.
An reclassification audit adjustment totaling $236,599.41 was proposed and accepted by the client to correctly present restricted for continuation of federal programs, restricted for capital projects and unrestricted on the governmental fund financial statements.
An audit adjustment totaling $5,300.00 was proposed and accepted by the client to move agency funds incorrectly recorded in the private purpose trust fund to the agency fund.
Numerous other audit adjustments and reclassification entries were proposed and accepted by management to properly present the School District's financial statements, notes to the financial statements, and schedules.
Cause: In discussing this deficiency with the School District, they stated that these issues were a result of the entity's failure to fully understand the financial reporting process.
Effect or Potential Effect: Material misstatements and misclassifications were included in the financial statements presented for audit. The lack of controls and monitoring could impact the reporting of the School District's financial position and results of operations.
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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017

II FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS

Recommendation: As a part of internal controls over the preparation of financial statements, including disclosures and schedules, the School District should implement comprehensive preparation and/or review procedures to ensure that the financial statements are complete and accurate. These procedures should be performed by a properly trained individual possessing a thorough understanding of the applicable GAAP, GASB pronouncements, and knowledge of the School District's activities and operations. The School District should consider implementing the use of a review checklist to assist in the review process over the financial statements.

Views of Responsible Officials:

FS 2017-003 Control Categories:
Internal Control Impact: Compliance Impact: Repeat of Prior Year Finding:

Internal Control Procedures over School Activity Accounts Revenues/Receivables/Receipts Expenditures/Liabilities/Disbursements General Ledger Significant Deficiency None FS 2016-003

Description: The accounting procedures of the School District were insufficient to provide for adequate internal controls over the school activity accounts.

Criteria: The School District's management is responsible for designing and maintaining internal controls that provide proper separation of duties and reasonable assurance that transactions are processed according to established procedures.
Financial Management for Georgia Local Units of Administration Chapter V-4, School Activity Accounts (Principal Accounts) states in part "Student Activity Funds (Agency Fund 705) support activities that are based in student organizations." In addition, it states "All activity funds should operate on a cash basis, meaning that no commitments or indebtedness may be incurred unless the fund contains sufficient cash."

Condition: The following deficiencies were noted with the School District's school activity accounts:

Revenues/Receivables/Receipts The key accounting functions of custody of assets, receipt preparation and record keeping were not adequately separated.

Expenditures/Liabilities/Disbursements The key accounting functions of custody of assets, check preparation and record keeping were not adequately separated. Our examination of twelve disbursements revealed the following discrepancies: o Five expenditures lacked prior approval. The purchase order was completed after the invoice date. o Two expenditures were checks made payable to "cash".

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BLECKLEY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2017
II FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS General Ledger
During testing of school activity accounts, the auditor noted one account had a deficit balance in the agency fund.
Cause: In discussing this deficiency with the School District, they stated that the errors were made due to the schools not having a school activity account policy manual. In addition, the schools do not have adequate personnel in order to be able to separate the duties. Effect or Potential Effect: Failure to maintain adequate internal controls over school activity accounts increases the risk that misstatements could occur in the financial statements due to errors or fraud and not be detected in a timely manner. Recommendation: The School District should establish control procedures to ensure that the key accounting functions of custody of assets, receipt preparation, check preparation and record keeping are separated. In the case when management determines separation of duties is not cost beneficial, management should implement compensating controls that reduce vulnerabilities in ineffectively separated functions and the risk of errors and fraud. In addition, the School District should implement procedures to ensure that receipts and disbursements are adequately documented, recorded, and approved. Management should discontinue writing checks made to "cash" due to the risk of check loss or fraud. The School District should also establish a monitoring process to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are processed according to established procedures. Views of Responsible Officials:
III FEDERAL AWARD FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS No matters were reported.
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SECTION V MANAGEMENT'S CORRECTIVE ACTION

Bleckley County Board of Education

KIM WRIGHT, Chair DEREK BELFLOWER, Vice-Chair
MILDRED BLOODWORTH MICHAEL SASSER AMY WILLIAMS

242 E. Dykes Street P.O. Box 516
Cochran, Georgia 31014-0516
"Expect Excellence!"

STEVE J. SMITH, SUPERINTENDENT
ANDREA WILLIAMS, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
(912) 934-2821 FAX (912) 934-9595 www.bleckley.k12.ga.us Twitter: @bleckleyschools

FINANCIAL STATEMENT FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS
Finding Control Number: 2017-001
We concur with this finding. Beginning FY2019 one additional employee was hired to process payroll. This will help separate duties within the finance department, and assure more accuracy in daily activities.
Contact Person: Aly Rozier, Finance Director Phone : (478) 934-2821 ext: 1002 Fax: (478) 934-9595 E-mail: arozier@bleckley.k12.ga.us
Finding Control Number: 2017-002
We concur with this finding. The finance director will continue to gain more experience with preparing financial statements, as well as attend each training opportunity given. After submission of FY2018 financial statements the school district plans to reach out to a CPA firm that prepares multiple school financial statements annually, to see if a review of the school district's financial statements can be looked over and adjusted (if needed) before the initial audit.
Contact Person: Aly Rozier, Finance Director Phone : (478) 934-2821 ext: 1002 Fax: (478) 934-9595 E-mail: arozier@bleckley.k12.ga.us
Finding Control Number: 2017-003
We concur with this finding. School bookkeepers will continue to reconcile each other's bank statements monthly, and rotate each year. We will review procedures of posting revenues and expenditures within each school to strengthen internal controls. This process will begin immediately.
Contact Person: Aly Rozier, Finance Director Phone : (478) 934-2821 ext: 1002 Fax: (478) 934-9595 E-mail: arozier@bleckley.k12.ga.us