Lincoln County Schools reports $85 million net position; board approves financial request

HAMILL, Sept. 29 — The Lincoln County Board of Education received a district financial briefing and approved the district's financial request at its Monday meeting, after hearing that the district's net position grew to about $85 million earlier this year largely because of the Duval Midway consolidation construction project.

Austin Lucas, who presented agenda item 8, told the board that "net position grew to about 85,000,000 in 02/2025. That's an increase of about 17,000,000, which is primarily directly a direct result of the Duval Midway consolidation construction job." He said most of that net position is tied to capital assets — buildings, land and equipment — and not cash available for spending.

Lucas said the district's unrestricted net position was about $8.8 million and that fund balances fell by roughly $2.3 million in fiscal 2025 to an ending balance of $13.5 million. He noted the general fund reserve balance was about $3.2 million, roughly 8.5% of expenditures, and said that while that is a healthy level, it has decreased the last two years and may decline again.

The presentation said revenues rose by about $14 million, which Lucas attributed to "SPA funding for the new school," and that state aid increased by about $1.5 million largely for pensions and insurance-related items. He said property tax collections exceeded budget by about $1 million and that Medicaid revenues and investment earnings were down. On the expense side, Lucas said total expenses rose roughly $3 million, including about $2 million in instructional costs and $500,000 in facilities and maintenance; he said transportation costs were down.

Lucas warned the board that the district still carries about $4 million in long-term lease payment obligations related to the Duval school and an athletic facility that will be paid over the next roughly 10 years. He described how reimbursement works for the Duval project, saying that when the district submits a $1,000,000 requisition to the SBA for reimbursement it receives about $890,000 back, meaning the district covers the remainder from county funds.

Board members asked clarifying questions. Daniel Cartwright asked whether prior property-valuation problems that affected collections had been resolved; Lucas said he "believes so" and that the county had since received a new evaluation. Lucas also discussed wage and benefit trends, saying wages typically rise 2% to 3% for step increases and that benefits (health insurance) had increased about 21% over three years.

After the presentation the board voted 5-0 to approve the financial request. The meeting packet and Lucas's presentation were made available to board members in advance, and Lucas offered to provide a one-page summary to members after the meeting.

Votes at the meeting also approved minutes, consent items, policies, authorization of payment of certain bills and personnel items; those votes are summarized separately in the votes roundup.

The district's presentation stressed that the $85 million figure reflects the value of capital assets and not cash on hand, and Lucas repeatedly urged the board to monitor fund balances as construction reimbursements and lease obligations continue to affect the unrestricted funds.

Looking ahead, Lucas said the district will receive updated property-valuation numbers in the spring and that revenues and expenses are expected to continue changing as the Duval project progresses.