Heidi Daley, the district’s new finance officer, told the Craven County Board of Education that preliminary, pre‑audit figures for fiscal year 2024‑25 show the district spent about $29.63 million from the local current expense fund while receiving about $24.15 million in revenue, producing a $5.4 million year‑end deficit before audit adjustments. "These are all pre audited figures and are very much subject to change," Daley said, and the auditors are scheduled to arrive in September.

Daley explained staff moved roughly $963,000 from the local current expense fund into Fund 8 (special revenue) to reduce the appearance of the deficit; most of that transfer covered utilities ($870,000), transportation ($48,000) and technology ($45,000). She presented a high‑level view of other funds: the state fund and federal grant fund zeroed out (revenues matching expenses), the capital outlay fund showed a $74,000 deficit, child nutrition a roughly $306,000 deficit, and Fund 8 about an $850,000 deficit. Daley said carryover items included at‑risk student services earmarked for an SRO contract and textbook/digital resource allocations.

The nut graf: the board was shown pre‑audit budget results that reveal several fund deficits driven largely by operational costs; staff moved targeted expenses across funds to mitigate the local fund deficit and presented a budget amendment to true up year‑end accounting, which the board adopted.

Daley said the district’s estimated ending unassigned fund balance (pre‑audit) could be about $6.7 million, but warned that auditors may change that figure through adjustments to revenue recognition, payables and inventories. Daley also highlighted an anticipated $2 million reduction in low‑wealth state funding for FY25‑26 and said continued appropriations of fund balance at recent levels are unsustainable.

Board members asked follow‑ups. Miss Stacy pressed Daley on pension and retirement obligations, noting that recent retirements and potential "pension spiking" costs had not been reflected in the presentation; Daley said those amounts were not yet known. Vice Chairman Mason asked Daley to flag unexpected pulls from the fund balance in future reports.

The board then considered a year‑end budget amendment described by Daley as "mostly true ups at the end of the fiscal year." The amendment reflected no net change to state funds, small federal increases, and adjustments between local purpose codes; the board approved the budget amendment in roll‑call vote (all present voted yes).