Berrien RESA has reimbursed more than $4 million to Berrien County school districts, while the Berrien RESA Board of Education hears a positive audit report for the year. RESA filled us in on the latest:
Last week, the Berrien Regional Education Service Agency’s (Berrien RESA) Board of Education authorized the reimbursement of $4,025,306 in special education funds back to local school districts. The dollar amount is determined using a county-wide reimbursement formula authorized by the Board.
It has been Berrien RESA’s practice to direct excess special education funding to area public school districts to reimburse a portion of their unfunded special education expenditures from the prior year. The surplus derives from two sources, Fund Equity and Act 18 dollars levied through a county Special Education millage. Over the past 10 years, the cumulative total of funds returned was $40.6 million.
“We are glad to once again be able to provide additional resources to our stakeholders,” said Berrien RESA Superintendent Eric Hoppstock. “We are pleased to have the flexibility to return funds back to our constituents which can then be used to offset special education costs – providing even more students with the critical resources they need to learn and thrive.”
Also shared during the meeting was Berrien RESA’s audit report prepared by Plante Moran. The district received a clean and unmodified opinion.
“Berrien RESA successfully completed its annual financial audit,” said Hoppstock. “The unmodified opinion represents the work of everyone in the organization. Although ISD/RESAs received no Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds, we still must purchase COVID-mitigation supplies and learning materials for our programs. With that in mind, everyone was careful to not exhaust resources. This attention to our bottom line is reflected in our positive audit report.”
