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Niskayuna reports preliminary 2024‑25 year‑end with reserves increased for capital projects
Summary
District staff told the audit and finance committee the preliminary 2024‑25 close shows the district maintaining a 4% unassigned fund balance, a reduction in carryover encumbrances and an additional allocation to the capital reserve of about $1.01 million.
District finance staff presented a preliminary year‑end summary for 2024‑25 to the Niskayuna Central School District audit and finance committee, reporting a positive close with actions to preserve fund balance and increase capital reserves.
The presenter said the district is maintaining the permitted 4% unassigned fund balance and has increased the capital reserve by about $1,010,000 as the books are closed. The presenter told the committee that actual expenditures were roughly $110,300,000 and actual revenues about $109,500,000, noting that comparison of top‑line figures can be misleading because the expenditures include approximately $2,400,000 carried over from the prior year and the revenue figure does not reflect the $2,500,000 previously assigned in fund balance for the 2025‑26 budget.
Staff reported specific variances: salaries were about $230,000 under budget and benefits came in about $266,000 under budget, though staff cautioned that late‑year medical claims caused tighter margins on benefits than in prior years. BOCES charges showed a favorable variance that staff said warrants further review of budget assumptions for BOCES services.
Debt service included a large accounting entry related to multi‑year installment purchases for technology through BOCES. Staff said auditors advised the district to recognize those lease‑type installment purchases in the general fund (per GASB 87), which offset a proceeds‑of‑lease line item and net to approximately zero in the annual results.
Officials also reported that carryover encumbrances decreased from about $2,400,000 to roughly $1,250,000 for the current year and that the tax certiorari reserve decreased by about $830,000 as a result of settlements and claim adjustments. Staff said the $8,000,000 capital reserve set aside for the 2024 referendum projects had already been earmarked and is not part of the newly available capacity. The presenter said the district expects to begin longer‑range debt and building‑aid planning with Fiscal Advisors (Ben Maslow) at a future committee meeting.
The committee did not take a formal vote on allocations in this meeting; staff said the preliminary figures will go to the full board on Tuesday for further consideration.
