Ferguson-Florissant CFO: district behind on property tax receipts, half of TAN repaid; board approves fiscal-management policy

Ferguson-Florissant School District Chief Financial Officer Lavonne Singleton told the board on Feb. 12 that the district has not received recent property tax deposits from St. Louis County and is “about $22,000,000 behind where we were last year.”

Singleton said the district borrowed a tax anticipation note and “we only borrowed $7,050,000,” and that the district has repaid approximately half of that loan with a $3,500,000 payment made in February and a second payment scheduled for March 1 covering the remaining principal plus interest.

The monthly financial presentation reviewed revenues and expenditures through Jan. 31, 2025. Singleton reported general fund revenues of about $32.8 million versus an original general fund budget of roughly $73.1 million (about 45% collected) and said the district has expended about 55% of budgeted expenses year to date. He reported the capital outlay fund was nearly exhausted — roughly 89–95% expended on different slides — and said the district can address a capital shortfall by transferring funds from the general fund if necessary.

Board members pressed for clarity on several figures and presentation math. Board member Paul Walker asked whether near-exhaustion of capital funds would force projects to be postponed; Singleton replied that Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education capitalization thresholds had shifted and that the district can transfer from the general fund to finish capital projects, saying the transfers are “very typical at the end of the year.”

Singleton also described the district’s reconciliation progress and need for outside assistance. He said staff are working to reconcile accounts through October and that they are about $10,000 short in the demand account; he recommended hiring outside help to accelerate reconciliations and said proposals for that support had not yet been finalized.

Board members and the CFO discussed monthly reporting details, encumbrances and whether departments are entering outstanding obligations so the board can see real-time commitments. Several board members asked for clearer presentation of weighted averages and monthly comparisons; Singleton said staff will present the figures in a clearer format at a future meeting.

On governance, the board approved a new fiscal-management policy (section D) effective July 1, 2025. The motion (moved by Paul Walker, second by Thurman) passed on a roll-call vote with all present voting yes; the board directed administration to draft associated administrative procedures.

Other formal actions earlier in the meeting included adoption of the posted meeting agenda and approval of the consent agenda; both votes were recorded as 6–0 in favor.

The meeting record shows the board and staff plan further follow-up items: (1) staff to provide the board the district’s current cash-on-hand figure by email; (2) Singleton to pursue outside accounting help to complete bank reconciliations and the audit-preparation work; and (3) continued monthly financial updates with clearer weighted-average explanations and an itemized listing of encumbrances and outstanding obligations.

The board’s discussion repeatedly distinguished between information-only updates (the financial presentation and questions), board direction (requests for clearer presentations and reconciliations), and formal action (approval of the fiscal management policy).