Lebanon schools report $16 million cash cushion; officials warn early state bills could cut property-tax revenue

The Lebanon Community School Corporation’s finance presentation on Jan. 21 showed the district closed calendar year 2023 with roughly $16,000,000 in operational fund balances and a fund-balance-to-expenditures ratio of about 40%, a level the presenter called “healthy” for an unexpected operating need.

That financial picture was delivered during the board of finance hearing by Mister Martin, a staff member, who walked trustees through six fiscal indicators the Distressed Unit Appeals Board (DUAB) uses to evaluate fiscal strength. “So, what you're seeing there is the sum of our operational funds on hand, is just at $16,000,000 as of end of year 2023,” Martin said. He added: “You'll see end of 2023, we were running at 40%.”

The presentation explained how cash is held and managed. The district keeps an operating account with a nightly peg of $1,500,000; surplus…