Iowa City schools audit reveals district had less money in fiscal 2025 than initially reported
IOWA CITY — The Iowa City school district had almost $38 million less money than it reported in a Certified Annual Report to the state in November 2025, a new audit shows. The fiscal 2025 audit shows the district ended that year June 30, 2025, with $24.5 million across all funds. That’s similar to districts with an enrollment of 3,000 students, according to an analysis of Certified Annual Reports from districts statewide. The Iowa City school district’s enrollment is about 14,400 students. The audit also shows that a capital projects fund — the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy, or PPEL — had a balance of $19.4 million but only $140,633 in cash at the end of fiscal 2025. Another capital projects fund — Secure An Advanced Vision for Education, or SAVE — owed PPEL $20.8 million. The money was used to pay SAVE’s debt payment on time. Overspending Last month, the Iowa City district shared that it overspent SAVE by more than $45 million over four fiscal years, using a fund primarily reserved to pay teacher and staff salaries to spend beyond its means. The fiscal 2025 audit revealed that SAVE was overspent by $33.5 million as of June 30,
