Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance director: early fiscal‑year spending rose vs. last year; bond proceeds and property tax timing to affect cash balances
Summary
At the board meeting Pulaski County Special School District finance staff presented September cash and fund balances that show year‑to‑date spending higher than the same period last year; staff noted a recent bond closing and large property‑tax receipts will affect near‑term balances.
Ms. Gies (finance staff) presented the district's financial reports for the opening of the 2025‑26 fiscal year and compared them with 2024‑25 numbers. She said the legal beginning balance on Sept. 1 was about $11,000,005, current‑month revenues for the period were about $4.7 million and current‑month expenses were almost $13 million, leaving an ending legal balance on Sept. 30 of roughly $2.7 million in the '25‑26 column. She showed comparative numbers for 2024‑25 with an ending legal balance on Sept. 30 of about $4.3 million.
"You have a beginning balance on 9/1 of almost 11,000,000. You have current month revenues of 4,700,000, current month expenses almost 13,000,000, an ending legal balance on 9/30 of 2,700,000," she said.
Board members asked whether the lower ending balance at the end of September compared with the prior year was cause for concern. Ms. Gies and other administrators pointed to timing of property tax collections and a recent bond closing: board discussion noted $13,000,000 in bond sale proceeds arrived and that larger property‑tax installments will come in November. One administrator cautioned the board to monitor monthly expenditures: "If our expenditures are going up from last year, then the cuts that we've that we have made are not substantial enough ... from 09/30 of last year, we spent 12,248,000. This year, we spent 12,979,000. So we're already overspending in the month of September than we were the previous year."
The finance staff said categorical fund balances (PD, ALE, ELL, ESSA) and other fund breakdowns were included in the packet; the board packet and the monthly check register are posted to the district website under board documents. Board members asked for further detail on whether any single large, one‑time spending item contributed to the September difference; finance staff offered to analyze the monthly transactions and report back.
Administrators also discussed the school‑based health clinic and funding history. Finance staff said she did not find budgeted expenses or revenue for the clinic this year and that Mainline (a community health provider referenced in the meeting) had been funding clinic work in past years; she agreed to follow up on grant histories and billing practices.
Why it matters: early‑year cash flow and expenditure patterns determine whether the district must adjust spending later in the fiscal year; the board was asked to track month‑to‑month expenditures and budgeted vs. actual revenue closely.
What comes next: finance staff will return with an itemized explanation for the September spending difference and an update on health‑clinic funding and coding. The board expects ongoing monthly reporting and an updated legal fund balance presentation.
