Solon CSD — Financial Health Snapshot

Days Cash on Hand
(General Fund, FY2025)

~140

up from ~133 in FY2023

2.3× the healthy line

Solvency Ratio
(FY2025)

~19%

Board target 10–15%

Above policy

General Fund Reserve (FY2025)

$3.95M

operating cushion

Planned drawdown

Audit Opinion
(both years)

Clean

unmodified opinion

No exceptions

Enrollment

~1,450

and growing

$25.5M bond, flat levy

Liquidity & Reserves

The strongest part of the picture: a thick cash cushion and reserves held above the district's own policy floor.

Days cash on hand — General Fund

60 = healthy

133

FY2023

140

FY2025

Solvency ratio vs. Board target band

10–15% target

22.6%

FY2023

19.1%

FY2025

General Fund balance ($ millions)

$4.51M

FY2023

$4.24M

FY2024

$3.95M

FY2025

A controlled ~$0.56M draw over two years — spending down pandemic-era surplus from a position of strength, while staying above the solvency target.

Operating Results — General Fund

Revenues are stable; the small recent gaps are deliberate draws on reserve, not revenue shortfalls.

17.11

17.04

FY2023

16.88

17.32

FY2024

17.15

~17.46

FY2025

Revenues ($M)Expenditures ($M)

What the $24.97M Total Fund Balance Actually Is

Read the headline carefully: most of it is restricted bond & capital money, not spendable operating reserve.

16%

51%

33%

$3.95MGeneral Fund — operating reserve (spendable)

~$12.7MUnspent bond proceeds — construction in progress

~$8.3MRestricted SAVE, debt service & other

The meaningful operating cushion is the General Fund (~$3.95M / ~140 days), not the $24.97M total.

Clean Compliance & Controls

Disciplined, ratio-driven management — both audit years.

Unmodified (clean) audit opinion, FY2023 & FY2025
Budget not exceeded; no questionable expenditures
Certified Annual Report filed on time to the state
No enrollment or supplementary-weighting variances
Board reviews solvency & spending ratios monthly and annually
Salary/benefits held within the 75–80% policy range

Watch Items (normal, not alarming)

From a strong base — items to monitor, not warning signs.

Segregation of duties — the near-universal small-district finding; a structural artifact of a small office, not mismanagement
Gradual reserve drawdown — solvency eased 22.6% → 19.1%, still above the 10–15% target
Growth dependence — enrollment growth & the associated capital/debt load are the main forward risks
GASB-68 pension accounting — produces a negative unrestricted net position on paper (an artifact common to all Iowa districts)

Growth & Capital at a Glance

Voter-approved GO bond (Mar 2023)$25.5M (~65% yes)

Use of proceedsElementary/intermediate expansion + activity center

Property tax levy~$16.2–16.3 / $1,000 (held flat)

Teacher agreement5-year, 3.25%/yr

General Fund cash & investments (FY2025)$6,678,888

Net position, governmental activities (FY2025)$41.2M

Change in total fund balance (FY2025)+$4.22M

Per-pupil spending~$10,509