Our School's Financial Strength |
|
(click on a picture to enlarge)
$20.3 Million Operating Budget |
|
Sources |
Uses |
 |
 |
Summary of Sources and Uses |
||
For the year ended June 30, 2007 |
||
(Unaudited) |
||
| Sources: | ||
| Tuition revenue (includes Johnson Academic Center) | $16,008,000 | |
| Auxillary revenue | 628,000 | |
| Annual fund revenue | 1,024,000 | |
| Other program revenue | 904,000 | |
| Fees and other revenue | 206,000 | |
| Restricted gift revenue | 724,000 | |
| Interest income | 164,000 | |
| Draw from school endowment funds | 614,000 | |
| Total sources | $20,272,000 | |
| Uses: | ||
| Salaries and benefits expense | $13,163,000 | |
| Financial aid | 1,356,000 | |
| Auxillary expenses | 478,000 | |
| Principal and interest on bonds | 1,437,000 | |
| Instructional expense | 750,000 | |
| Overhead and general expense | 820,000 | |
| Plant maintenance | 777,000 | |
| Capital expenses | 875,000 | |
| Other program expenses | 616,000 | |
| Total uses | $20,272,000 | |
- Three bond issuances have been executed totaling $24.1 million, allowing the school to accelerate its investment in fixed assets and pay for a variety of deferred maintenance projects. These additions have provided for improvement in the quality of facilities for existing students as well as for expansion of the facilities to allow for increased enrollment.
- In 2005, the school refunded the remaining $18,785,000 balance of its existing bond issue to combine it with $5 million in new debt to form one new bond issue with a principal amount of $23,785,000. The new debt has funded the construction of the Livengood Lower School Gymnasium, Lower School Arts and Sciences Wing, the Brown Lower School Dining Hall, Furr Field House, the Dew Coordinate Center, a new Middle School and Upper School art area, and three new classrooms to house the growing Upper School.
- We have approved a detailed plan to satisfy the school’s debt service requirements over the next 30 years, from a combination of operating revenues, Annual Fund and payout from the endowment.
-
- The school developed a formal 15-year capital plan to incorporate future plant repairs and maintenance into the long range financial planning of the school. Along with this, the school approved a formal policy for maintaining reserves for unanticipated capital expenses.
- Developed processes for monitoring compliance with reporting requirements of the school’s Letter of Credit with BB&T that supports our bond issue. The school is currently in compliance with all debt covenants.
- A Metric Scorecard has been developed for the school to establish key financial statistics to monitor and report as we keep abreast of the school’s financial health. We compute and compare these statistics to established benchmarks, reporting our findings to the Finance Committee annually.
- The school has received an unqualified or "clean" opinion in each of its recent fiscal year end financial statement audits performed by Dixon Hughes. Furthermore, no material weaknesses in internal controls were noted in the school's most recently completed audit.
- We have implemented a number of improvements in the school’s budgetary process, resulting in more budgetary accuracy. Furthermore, we formally document actual results compared to the budget via a quarterly review that is distributed to the Headmaster and the Board of Trustees.
- The School has raised over $23 million in funds.
- Enrollment grew from 757 to 1050 from 1998 to 2008, increasing total tuition revenue by 155%, from $6.3 million in 1998 to $16.1 million in 2008.
- The Annual Fund has increased from zero in 1997-98 to $1,024,000 in 2007.
For the past several years, the school has experienced 100% participation in the Annual Fund from the Board and the faculty.
Growth in Annual Fund
- The value of the school’s endowment investments has increased from $699,000 at June 30, 1998 to $16,371,000 at June 30, 2007, an increase of 2242%.
Growth in Endowment
- Total assets increased from $9.0 million at June 30, 1998 to $47.5 million at June 30, 2007.
- Improved our endowment monitoring and management process. We developed an Endowment Payout Schedule to project our endowment’s growth over the next 25 years, taking into consideration the anticipated annual withdrawals for partially funding debt service that is not funded through the operating budget. Key metrics built into the analysis allow the school to monitor capitalization of our endowment and the average long term anticipated payout percentage. Established benchmarks for assessing the health of the school’s endowment, include a capitalization ratio and average endowment payout percentage of 1.5 and 3.10%, respectively.
- In 2003, the school’s Finance Committee approved a new investment policy and allocation with the assistance of an outside investment advisor who provided oversight and consulting at a minimal cost to the school. The new advisor, who is the VP of Investments for
Asset Classes and Target Bands for School’s Investment Allocation - The portion of the school's endowment invested in accordance with the above allocation model (i.e. 95% that is non-cash) is primarily made up of Vanguard mutual funds. The return on the Vanguard mutual funds portion of the school's endowment was 24.07% for the year ended June 30, 20076 in comparison with the benchmark's return of 16.77%.
- Forsyth Country Day School dramatically improved its financial operations over the past several years by implementing a continuous process of reducing expenses, including those resulting from a) a utility audit, b) changes in medical and dental benefits structure and plans, c) changes in the Johnson Academic Center fee structure and scheduling, d) implementation of strategic methodologies for setting tuition, e) new music, art, tennis, and other revenue-generating programs, f) a change to a less expensive yearbook printer, g) restructuring our bus service rate schedule, h) increases in bookstore sales and profit, i) reduction in losses from our food service program started in 2002, j) bringing outsourced functions such as painting, electrical work, and carpentry in house, k) renegotiating vendor contracts for HVAC service, copier maintenance, waste management, paper purchases and more. These efforts to reduce expenses that do not impact the overall educational quality and increase revenues have allowed the school to fund its new educational programs and our school’s continued efforts to attract and recruit the best teachers by offering competitive pay.
Role of Fundraising in the Finances of Our School
Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is a yearly appeal for donations to support the current operations of the school. The Annual Fund bridges the gap between tuition income and the operating expenses of the school (what the educational costs really are). Contributions to the Annual Fund allow families to gain a tax-deductible advantage for the support of their children’s education. Annual Fund monies are unrestricted gifts that support programs across the board, represented by the FCDS Family of Annual Funds, which include academics, the arts, athletics, student financial aid, technology and the library, and faculty development. Annual Fund monies are raised and spent within the same fiscal year. Gifts of all sizes are greatly appreciated, but the school requests that each family consider a gift at The 1970 Society level or above on an annual basis.
Capital Campaign
Capital funds, on the other hand, are raised to finance specific school projects. Capital projects typically include new building construction and renovation of existing buildings. Current capital plans include the Arts Support Center and Theater (Pollock Arts Academy), Wellness Center, and Smart Boards. Capital funds are also raised to help the school’s overall endowment. Faculty, financial aid, and other restricted endowments are also established through capital gifts.