La Porte ISD trustees review December 2024 financials; fund balance down to about $44 million

La Porte ISD's finance team presented a line-by-line review of the district's December 31, 2024 financial statements at the board workshop on Feb. 4, with CFO Stacy McDowell walking trustees through the balance sheet, revenue-and-expenditure report, capital-project statements for the 2014 and 2023 bonds, the tax collection report, the quarterly investment report and recent budget amendments.

McDowell framed the session as an orientation for trustees: "So our workshop tonight, the goal of this workshop is to offer a high level overview of La Porte ISD's financial statements to assist the board, the trustees at our monthly board meetings," she said. She noted the district provides December statements in February because of the time needed to close and reconcile monthly books.

Why it matters: the presentation showed the district's fund balance had declined from $61 million at the end of the prior fiscal year to about $44 million as of Dec. 31, reflecting normal timing differences before tax revenue arrives in January and February. That shift matters for short-term liquidity planning and for trustees' discussions about operating-day reserves.

Key points from the presentation

• Balance sheet and fund balance: McDowell explained assets equal liabilities plus fund equity and pointed to cash, investments and receivables (taxes and state payments) that are due but not yet posted to bank statements. She told trustees the district's unassigned fund-balance at the end of the prior fiscal year was $61,000,000 and that the December snapshot showed an unassigned balance closer to $44,000,000 because tax revenues had not yet been received.

• Compensated absences: Finance staff explained the district records an accrued liability for paid-time-off (vacation) that is payable if employees left on June 30; the amount is calculated per employee and by fund. McDowell and a finance colleague said the current compensated-absences liability is about $1,000,000 as of the fiscal-year cutoff.

• Debt service and bond accounts: Trustees heard that debt-service collections build throughout the year and that principal and interest payments occur twice per year (interest in August and principal+interest in February). McDowell estimated the upcoming payout for bond principal and interest at roughly $38,000,000 and said the debt-service fund held about $20,000,000 on Dec. 31. She also reviewed the capital-project statements for the 2014 bond (small remaining balances, about $177,000 carried forward from the prior year and roughly $82,000 more recently) and the 2023 bond (original sale ~ $235,000,000; board materials showed multi‑year budgeting and remaining balances reported in the packet).

• Arbitrage and interest on bond proceeds: McDowell warned that interest earnings on bond proceeds are subject to federal arbitrage rules and cannot automatically be repurposed for projects; she said the 2014 bond had accumulated about $5,000,000 in interest earnings that are restricted by arbitrage rules.

• Tax collections: The tax-collection report (provided by the district's tax-collection vendor) showed month-end receipts and year-to-date collections. McDowell reported month receipts of about $23,700,000 and a year-to-date collection rate improvement compared with the prior year (she cited roughly an 18.67% collection rate versus 15.4% last year). The report also noted a remaining levy balance and delinquent levies; McDowell said the total remaining levy on the roll was about $112,000,000 and delinquent levies around $3,100,000.

• Investments and cash management: The quarterly investment report described cash held in the district depository (Wells Fargo), money-market/pool investments and other short-term holdings. McDowell said the pools are diversified, flexible and can be liquidated quickly to meet payroll and accounts payable needs; she explained the district moves cash into the bank before Thursday check runs and payroll.

• Budget amendments and object codes: McDowell reviewed recent budget transfers (for example, movement into academic decathlon and campus travel accounts) and told trustees the administration would provide a supplemental report showing common object codes and the detailed lines that roll up into major object groups such as "6200 — professional contracted services." Trustees asked for the more granular object-code list; McDowell committed to send that material.

Board questions and staff commitments

Trustees pressed for clarity about line-item descriptions (plant maintenance, utilities and other object codes), timing of insurance renewals and the method used to compute compensated-absences liabilities. McDowell and the district's finance staff agreed to provide a follow-up packet with (1) a glossary of object codes, (2) the compensated-absences calculation methodology and (3) updated bond and capital-project balances after recent February payments.

No formal action or vote was taken at the workshop; the presentation was informational and will feed into the February regular meeting packet and the district's ongoing budget work through spring.