$700,000 deficit budget, but plenty of cash on hand.
The SoBoCo School Board approved a 2017-18 budget with a much-reported $700,000 deficit.
So why aren’t the elected members of the school board worried?
One small reason is that board members are confident that the district will not have a $700,000 deficit at this time next year.
One big reason is that the school district has $3.7 million in reserves.
Those reserves have been built up for a number of years – including this year’s estimated addition to the reserve fund of about $700,000 – and will be utilize to help pay for 11.5 new teachers this year. The deficit budget will not only pay for new teachers, but also provide current faculty with step increases as well as $500 added to their base pay.
“Also, the board approved moving $250,000 to our capital improvement fund, that is always a sign of confidence and good to invest in improvements,” said Superintendent Chris Felmlee on Tuesday.
School board leaders say that building the reserve fund has been a solid strategy for years.
“Many school districts get down to nine or 10% at the end of the year and have to borrow money to make ends meet,” said longtime board member Joe Miller. “It is a credit to our school board, our superintendents and administrators that we have been able to be good stewards of the public’s money and they have been very, very supportive of the school district,” Miller added.
~ Get the full story in today’s Journal ~
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