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PSS assets dip by $8.7 million last fiscal year
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Posted on Sep 06 2011
An independent audit on the CNMI Public School System showed that its net assets declined by $8.7 million last fiscal year.
According to J. Scott Magliari, the decline in PSS’ net assets from $79.253 million in fiscal year 2009 to $70.543 million in fiscal year 2010 was caused primarily by the accrual for unfunded retirement contributions amounting to $5.3 million, accrual of unpaid compensated absences of $429,000, and excess expenditures of $2.1 million over its revenues.
Based on fiscal year 2010 audit report, PSS had net assets of $79.253 million in the beginning of the fiscal year. It also had only $75.287 million in total revenue compared to its operating expenses of $83.569 million.
In fiscal year 2009, the system started with $86.437 million in net assets and recorded $64.720 million in revenues. Its expenditures, amounting to $72.999 million, also exceeded revenue. PSS ended the fiscal year with $79.253 million in total net assets.
In terms of revenue, PSS recorded a significant increase—from 2009’s $64.7 million to $75.2 million in 2010—because of funding it received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Records show that in the past 10 fiscal years, federal funding received by PSS continues to increase while its local funding support significantly declined from $37 million in 2001 to $36.7 million in 2007. Local appropriation continued to decrease, reaching $31.2 million in 2010. This is a 16-percent decline—a drop of $6 million—from the 2001 to 2006 appropriation.
The following are the combined funding received by PSS from the central government and federal agencies during the 10-year period:
* 2001: $54.2 million
* 2002: $55.2 million
* 2003: $60.2 million
* 2004: $60.7 million
* 2005: $63 million
* 2006: $66.5 million
* 2007: $65.3 million
* 2008: $65.3 million
* 2009: $63.8 million
* 2010: $72.9 million
