PEARLAND, Texas — At the Sept. 9 Pearland ISD Board of Trustees meeting, district finance staff delivered a fund-balance overview explaining governmental accounting categories and recommended the board — for operational clarity — track and benchmark assigned and unassigned fund balance rather than the five-category total commonly shown in prior reports.

The presentation, led by the district finance team with Superintendent Doctor Berger, reiterated that fund balance is an accounting snapshot distinct from cash-on-hand. Staff explained the five governmental-fund categories: unassigned (most flexible funds used for cash flow and emergencies), assigned (management-set-aside), committed (board set-aside), restricted (grant- or bond-restricted), and nonspendable (inventory, prepaids). The presenters said audited reporting and rating-agency benchmarks typically focus on the flexible categories — assigned plus unassigned — when evaluating short-term liquidity.

Finance staff described the district’s current composition: discretionary unassigned funds that equate to about 88 days of operating fund balance; management-assigned funds of roughly five days; board-committed funds equating to about 29 days (the board had previously set aside about $17 million for named-storm response, $4 million for major maintenance and $10 million for economic stabilization); and nonspendable amounts for inventory and prepaids equating to about six days.

Trustees asked several technical questions about accounting mechanics and policy implications. Trustee Johnson and others requested clarity on whether multi-year prepaid contracts and ESSER or other restricted federal funds affect the practical fungibility of fund balance. Finance staff explained that restricted funds remain allocated for their statutory uses and that prepaids reduce available cash but are reflected in nonspendable balances until reversed in the subsequent fiscal year when expenses are recognized.

Trustees discussed a strategic target: the board previously set a 95-day fund-balance goal in the strategic scorecard. Finance staff recommended a best-practice operating range of roughly 90–120 days for assigned and unassigned fund balance to provide healthy cash-flow flexibility while aligning to rating-agency expectations; the district’s current assigned-plus-unassigned position falls within that broader best-practice range.

No formal board action was required at the meeting; trustees asked staff to return with any necessary follow-up analyses and to present future fund-balance reporting focusing on assigned and unassigned categories to match audit and rating agency practice.