Heather Martin, Executive Director of Business Services explained that the last remaining portion of the school’s discretionary funds amounting to $192,000 was withheld from schools to help reinstate the third furlough day. However $489,000 in categorical funds were approved to get transferred into the general fund which will be used to reinstate the furlough day. Now the $192,000 is no longer needed for that purpose.
Normally, Martin explained that questions of discretionary funds are dealt with at the Superintendent level.
Dr. Romano stated that the majority of the board wished to provide those funds back to schools as would she, however she did not want to go forward until they all agreed to be on the same page.
Susan Duval said she would like it to go back to schools. “While this does not cover everything, it does give them some financial assistance… ” she stated.
This final allotment would bring the schools to 100% of their discretionary funding for the school year. Martin explained that the funds can be used for anything the school needs to function with the exception of capital expenditures. However she warned that there is a very limited time period in which they have to spend the money: between now and end of year. The money they don’t spend comes back to the general fund and rolls over for next year.
She also mentioned that their is a strategy underway to assist schools in supplementing their sub- budgets. They could use this money for sub-budgets, if they are running short.
Chairman Matthew Foreman, worried at the last workshop about the dire state of the reserve funds as they are at 2.08% and should be ideally around 5%. For this reason he wished to retain the discretionary funds. Mark Johnson, absent at the workshop on May 3rd, also was of this mindset. If the reserve funds drop below 2%, the district would be at risk of a state review, which is costly in time and money. Foreman did not make any comments at the May 3rd workshop in regards to keeping the money in the general fund as the majority of school board members were in agreement to give it back to the schools.