District budget review: education fund healthy, operations fund strained; federal Title grants under review

District business staff presented preliminary year‑to‑date cash flows and a budget calendar, reporting the education fund would likely increase by about $250,000 by year‑end under current projections, while the operations fund showed a projected shortfall. Dana explained June receipts and expenditures for the education fund and operations fund: June receipts in the education fund were $2,796,224.94 against June expenditures of $3,059,159.98; $1,000,000 of the recorded expenditures was a transfer from the education fund to the operations fund as part of a planned $2,000,000 transfer for the calendar year. Dana said the district’s reported beginning cash balance for the education fund was approximately $5,589,000. The operations fund carried a different picture: higher receipts due to property tax inflows in June (the district recorded a tax draw of about $11,791,000 in June), but the operations fund trended negative by about $174,000 in staff’s estimate. Dana attributed much of the pressure to the “circuit breaker” tax‑cap effect that limits tax collections for some property owners. Separately, staff discussed a federal pause in certain Title grant disbursements. National reporting referenced by Dana indicated roughly $6.8 billion of federal funds were paused for review; the district does not receive Title I Part C funds but does receive Title II (professional development) and smaller Title III and Title IV allocations. Tri Creek’s Title II allocation was stated as roughly $75,000–$81,000 and Title IV roughly $25,000; staff said those awards were under review and that uncertainty complicates budgeting for professional development and multi‑year contracted services. Dana told the board the district plans to advertise its Form 3 and present the public adoption of the budget on Sept. 11, and that there is some flexibility in meeting dates as the district prepares for negotiations and staffing changes that affect appropriations. Next steps: staff may return with a resolution to increase inter‑fund transfers (Dana suggested an additional ~$200,000 transfer from education to operations to avoid a negative balance) and will update the board when federal grant determinations are finalized.