Springfield SD 186 reports $51.5 million in capital projects balance; FY25 amended budget shows widened deficit driven by education and transportation funds

The Springfield School District 186 board on April 7 heard a business report showing the Capital Projects Fund had an ending balance of $51,545,680.35 for the month ending Feb. 28, 2025, and that outstanding state payments for fiscal 2025 totaled $2,122,643.75 as of March 31, 2025.

The presentation, delivered during the business report portion of the meeting, said the district received $1,172,595 in sales tax receipts in February (for the November reporting period) and has received about $66 million in sales tax since February 2019, with a 12‑month average collection of roughly $1,145,000. The district is using sales-tax receipts to pay principal and interest on bonds issued for capital projects; the next bond payment of $9,276,919 is due June 1, 2025. The presenter said the district projects a surplus of just over $2 million at that time and does not expect trouble meeting the June payment based on current collections and conservative projections.

Separately, the district’s business director presented the FY25 amended budget. Total operating fund revenues are projected at about $2.242 billion and expenditures at about $2.65 billion in the presentation materials (the district noted that federal and other flow-through grants, omitted from the tentative budget, add roughly $20 million to both revenues and expenditures). The amended budget shows an increased projected deficit of about $23.5 million — an increase from a $2.1 million deficit shown in the original tentative budget. That increase is concentrated in the Education Fund and the Transportation Fund.

Key figures presented: - Outstanding state payments (03/31/2025): $2,122,643.75. - Capital Projects Fund beginning balance (Feb 1, 2025, presented): $57,512,249.80; ending balance (02/28/2025): $51,545,680.35 after bond draws and expenses of $6,458,995.79 and investment earnings of $492,426.34. - Sales tax receipts to date (since 02/2019): ~$66,000,000; February sales-tax receipts (received in February for November) $1,172,595. - Community facilities sales-tax savings account balance reported: $7,936,634; next payment due June 1, 2025: $9,276,919. - Operating funds projected fund-balance ratio (FY25 amended budget): 17.8% (the presenter estimated closer to 22% when accounting for 95% spending assumptions). - Education Fund projected deficit (FY25 amended budget): ~$20,500,000 with projected fund balance of $19,600,000. - Transportation Fund projected deficit: ~$1,300,000–$1,400,000 with projected fund balance ~$5,300,000. - O&M projected deficit: ~$1,500,000 with projected fund balance ~$2,500,000.

Reasons cited for the increased deficit in the Education Fund included mid‑year pay increases for paraprofessionals and teaching assistants and additional special education staffing. Presenters also noted lower than expected Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) receipts; the presenter said the shortfall could be on the order of roughly $3 million and noted two remaining CPPRT payments are expected in April and May.

Board members pressed for clarity on cash flow and the district’s plan to avoid delinquency on bond payments. The business director and presenters said the district has locked interest rates on outstanding bond issues and that the district is maintaining a conservative cash balance in order to retain flexibility — including the option to pay portions of future capital projects in cash rather than bonding the full amounts.

The board voted to authorize staff to prepare the tentative fiscal year 2026 budget (resolution appointing the persons who will prepare the tentative budget and requiring the tentative budget be filed with the board secretary). That motion passed by recorded vote; the district noted the FY26 tentative budget will be developed through the summer with a formal adoption later in the fiscal cycle.

The amended budget materials were made available for public inspection on April 4; the board schedule includes a public hearing on the amended budget on May 5, 2025.

Ending: The information presented frames the district’s near‑term cash‑flow and capital obligations: sales‑tax receipts are expected to be the primary source to service bond debt, while operating funds face a larger year‑end deficit driven by salary increases and lower CPPRT receipts. The board directed staff to continue work on the FY26 tentative budget and to publish materials for the May 5 public hearing.