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Treasurer reports reserves stable but warns of federal Title funding uncertainty and higher insurance costs
Summary
Treasurer presented fiscal-year-end figures showing general fund reserves at 28% excluding a planned $18 million capital transfer, flagged potential loss of federal Title allocations totaling roughly $373,000 to the district, and reported a 12% increase in property/casualty insurance that was negotiated down.
Treasurer Mr. Turnello told the board July 14 that, excluding an $18 million transfer to the capital plan, the district's general fund reserves exceeded expenditures by about $8.9 million; with the transfer included, expenditures exceeded revenues by about $9.4 million. Excluding the onetime capital transfer, reserves equaled about 28 percent of expenditures, or roughly 103 days of cash on hand.
Turnello highlighted uncertainty over federal Title allocations from the U.S. Department of Education. He said the department had not yet allocated funds for several programs (Title II-A, Title III and Title IV-A) and that, if those allocations do not arrive, Willoughby Eastlake could lose about $373,000 that had been anticipated. "We haven't heard whether it's coming, so we have no idea about it," he said. He added that Title I and IDEA-B special-education funding remained in place.
On insurance, Turnello said liability insurance premiums rose about 12 percent at renewal primarily because replacement costs for buildings increased; after negotiations the insurer reduced the increase by roughly half, saving about $30,000, and also cut the district's additional $1 million cyber insurance cost by about $5,000. Turnello said the district compared the renewal cost to other options, including Liberty Mutual and the Ohio School Plan, and concluded the current contract remained favorable.
The board approved the monthly financial report for June 30 and several transfers and appropriations as part of the consent agenda. Turnello said interest earnings for fiscal 2025 totaled $2,874,000, about $266,000 more than the prior year. He cautioned that final fiscal-26 projections will be revisited in September–October, when the district aligns appropriations with its multi-year forecast and labor negotiations for the coming year.
