Camdenton board hears budget preview, projects small surplus and plans transfers for early childhood facility

Finance staff for the Camdenton R-III School District presented a year-end budget preview and asked the board to grant authority for administrative adjustments to the district’s final actuals once fiscal-year bookkeeping is complete.

The district reported year-to-date receipts of roughly $67 million and year-to-date expenditures of about $54.6 million; after encumbrances and conservative estimates, staff projected next year’s revenues at about $64.9 million and expenditures near $64.6 million, producing an estimated surplus of $292,944. Finance staff cautioned trustees that the surplus is modest relative to a roughly $64 million budget and that unanticipated costs — such as recent maintenance incidents — could quickly reduce that margin.

Administrators explained several factors behind the projection. Federal pandemic-era funding (including ESSER) and some Title grants have declined; Title I and Title II allocations were discussed specifically. Staff said they budgeted expected carryover amounts to smooth known personnel costs — for example, the district’s Title I allocation alone (the current-year allocation of about $918,000) would not cover the teacher salaries and benefits associated with the program without carryover funds. Staff estimated Title I carryover at roughly $345,000.

Staff also reviewed monthly spending patterns and explained that June typically shows higher outlays because payrolls and employee separation payouts are often processed in that month. Finance staff estimated the district would be able to transfer up to $1.6 million into Fund 4 (capital projects) and expressed a goal of increasing Fund 4 balances toward a target they mentioned (around $9.5 million) to cover anticipated capital needs.

One major capital item on the horizon is the Dogwood early childhood facility; staff provided a worst-case construction estimate of roughly $2.92–2.94 million and recommended planning for up to $3.2 million as a conservative cushion for project contingencies. Staff said many items typically coded as classroom supplies or furniture would likely come from operating funds rather than capital, and therefore the district should preserve capital balances for hard construction costs.

The board voted to grant staff authority to amend the “actual” expenditures and revenues after fiscal-year close so administrators could finalize bookkeeping and present a recommendation at the July board meeting. Trustees later approved the 2025–26 administrative budget as presented.

Board members also reviewed debt-service projections, noting a scheduled principal reduction and interest obligations in the coming year; staff said the district’s current bonded capacity is well above existing debt but advised caution with large borrowing. The presentation closed with a request that trustees continue conservative stewardship as one-time federal funds diminish.

The board moved into executive session later in the meeting; the budget-authority vote and the 2025–26 administrative budget approval occurred in open session earlier in the special meeting.