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Board names finance officers, keeps Lake City Bank and legal counsel; DUAB report shows enrollment decline and falling cash balance
Summary
The board adopted a January 2025 resolution that appoints district finance officers, continues the Lake City Bank relationship and names Barnes & Thornburg for financial legal matters; administrators also presented the DUAB fiscal indicators showing declining enrollment and a dip in cash balance.
The Elkhart Community Schools Board of Trustees adopted a January 2025 resolution Jan. 14 that appointed the district treasurer and deputy treasurer, set copying fees and official legal publication outlets, and continued relationships with financial and legal service providers.
During the organizational portion of the meeting a presenter asked the board to "appoint myself as the treasurer of the school district of Elkhart Community Schools, Erica Purvis, our controller as the deputy treasurer of Elkhart Community Schools." The resolution also designated Lake City Bank as the district's cash-management provider for 2025 and named Barnes & Thornburg as legal counsel for financial matters; it set the mileage rate, bond amounts for officers who handle district funds and named the Elkhart Truth and Negotiate News for required legal publications. The board approved the resolution unanimously.
At the board of finance annual meeting that followed, administrators presented the DUAB (Department of Local Government Finance/DUAB) fiscal indicators. A district presenter said the district has seen a nearly 10-year enrollment decline and is "starting to see a dip in our cash balance." The presenter added the district has increased its cash balance over the prior four years and therefore has some runway to manage the short-term deficit trend.
The presentation noted that Elkhart Community Schools has no traditional investment vehicles; the district instead uses sweep accounts with Lake City Bank and U.S. Bank to earn additional interest, the presenter said.
Board members asked where the DUAB reports are available; the administration said the DUAB indicators are included in the public packet and also available through the DUAB website so the public can compare school districts. The presenter said DUAB is a monitoring tool that looks at multiple financial indicators and is used to prompt early conversations if a district shows worrisome trends.
The board recorded the resolution as passing unanimously; no roll-call tally was provided in the public record.
