Brandon School Division ended last fiscal year with $400K surplus
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The Brandon School Division ended the 2025-26 fiscal year with an operating surplus of about $400,000, BDO Canada LLP reported during the board of trustees’ last general meeting on Monday.
The division’s expenses increased by about $6 million from the previous year, but were $2 million below budget, BDO manager Jarett Kowaluk told the board.
“In today’s economic environment, that’s quite impressive,” Kowaluk said.
The result, he said, produced a surplus of about $2.4 million before $2 million was transferred to fund items such as capital asset purchases and debt repayment.
“Overall, at the end, the operating surplus of the division was approximately $400,000, which is in line with the prior year results,” he said.
The school division received roughly $3 million in additional provincial funding, but that was partly offset by about $2 million less in municipal property tax revenue, Kowaluk said.
The division also invested about $19.5 million in capital assets during the year, reflecting continued spending on school infrastructure.
Kowaluk said the division’s financial position did not raise any liquidity concerns, and its cash and receivables exceeded its current and upcoming liabilities.
The audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, he said, meaning BDO determined the financial statements fairly presented the division’s financial position and financial results in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
In its planning process, the auditors identify several significant risks.
“We found nothing in those significant risk areas that required communication to the board. So, great job,” Kowaluk said.
“We also did not identify any significant deficiencies in internal control which required communication to management or the board.”
The findings, he said, reflect well on management’s financial reporting process and “the quality of the information that is provided to us during the audit.”
BDO also reviewed the reported enrolment figures.
“We design procedures specific to the division’s reported enrolment numbers, and based on the work we performed, we agreed that the numbers reported are accurate,” he said.
Board chair Linda Ross thanked Kowaluk and his team for their work.
“I would like to also acknowledge the work of secretary-treasurer Denis Labossiere and the rest of the team for all of the good work that they do all year round, which makes this process much simpler,” Ross said.
The auditor’s report was still in draft form when requested by the Sun and had not yet been approved by the board. A division official said the finalized report was expected to be ready by the next meeting.
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