Superintendent Dr. Hunt told the Parma City School District Board of Education on Aug. 7 that the district’s federal title allocations for fiscal year 2026 are roughly $2.6 million lower than last year, a shortfall that, together with required pass-throughs to nonpublic schools and existing expenses, is a key reason the district plans to seek operating dollars this November.

Dr. Hunt said the district received updated allocations “today” across seven federal title programs but that the total fell from about $9.8 million in FY25 to about $7.2 million in the current allocations. “The discrepancy between last year's allocations and the money that we actually got is about $2,600,000 that we're not receiving,” he said. He added that carryover funds could increase the total somewhat but “it won't increase the cover of the 2,600,000 loss in federal funding.”

That shortfall matters, Dr. Hunt told the board, because some federal funds must be passed through to nonpublic partners. He recited last year’s nonpublic allocations as examples: Title I $390,362.31; Title II-A $70,000; Title III $5,700; Title IV-A $73,800.26; IDEA (special education) $190,726.03. “When we're looking at what our need is, when our federal dollars drop by $2,600,000 and another three quarters of a million we are required to push out to our nonpublics,” he said.

Dr. Hunt reviewed the district’s larger budget context and the board’s formal cash-reserve policy. He read the policy language stating the board “believes that maintaining a cash reserve balance of 60 days of last fiscal year's operating expenses is necessary in the interest of sound fiscal management,” and noted that the board’s policy “shall” — not “may” — pursue levies or other management to maintain that level.

The superintendent gave specific forecast figures the administration is using: 123 days of cash on hand in FY25; a projected 69 days for FY26; 24 days in 2027; negative 25 days in 2028; and negative 79 days in 2029. He emphasized the operational impact of those projections and the lag in levy collections: if a levy passes in November the district would collect roughly half of the revenue in that fiscal year because collections occur in the second half of the year.

Dr. Hunt also addressed staffing costs and career-technical education (CTE). He said total district expenditures last year were “about $162,000,000,” with staffing (salaries and benefits for all employees, including CTE staff) totaling $135,300,000 — about 83.3% of expenditures. He said the district operates 17 CTE programs and pays roughly $4.8 million in salary and benefits for that programming (about 3.5 percentage points of the staffing share). “If you eliminated our CTE programming, we'd probably be right in line with every other district,” he said, noting that county career centers would otherwise impose additional tax millage on Parma taxpayers.

Board members asked clarifying questions during and after the presentation. Dr. Hunt and a member of the treasurer’s staff (Sean) described federal carryover rules: most grants may carry forward, Title I carryover is capped at 15 percent, and Perkins is “use it or lose it.” Sean noted the district typically has 27 months to spend allocations and that final expenditure reports are due to the state (the transcript records a shift in the reporting deadline to Dec. 31 for the current year because allocations were delayed).

Why seek operating dollars? Dr. Hunt framed the November request as intended to protect current programs, maintain the board’s 60‑day cash policy and sustain services that the district provides locally — including its in‑district CTE programming. “This is why we're asking, this is why we need it, these are actual numbers,” he said.

The presentation ran through detailed numbers and assumptions that Dr. Hunt said were taken from the district’s forecast and year‑end calculations; he cautioned that forecasts change with new data. He closed by offering to provide updated nonpublic allocation figures and any carryover estimates once state approvals and final reports are clear.

Looking ahead, Dr. Hunt told the board the district will include the funding request on the November ballot and that the administration will return with more detailed carryover and allocation updates as they become available.