Finance presentation details common school loan, capital projects and fund projections

Finance staff provided a multi-part financial update that covered an interest-free common school fund loan provided by the state legislature, allocations to capital projects, recent project status and cash-flow projections for district funds.

A presenter identified as Miss Wright summarized the loan history and capital usage. She said the district received an interest-free loan from the common school fund following legislative action (presenter referenced "H 1065" in the presentation). According to the presenter, the principal balance was about $25,000,000 in 2020 and had declined to roughly $5.1 million as of July 1, 2024; she said the district had spent roughly $20,000,000 of that principal between 2020 and 2024 and that approximately $2,270,000 remained allocated for capital projects (figures presented by staff during the meeting).

The presentation listed specific planned uses of remaining funds, including:

- Approximately $1,000,000 allocated for West Side bathroom renovations (work in progress); - $350,000 proposed for additional summer renovations at a middle-school site described in the packet as "baby" renovations (presenter used that label in the meeting); - About $100,000 allocated for Gary Middle School window repairs following cold-weather issues; - LED lighting work nearly complete; other door and security allocations listed in the packet.

The presenter emphasized that expenditures from the common school fund must be approved and that projects must follow statutory and audit requirements. She named two people responsible for approvals as "Duwap and Pete Miller" (as stated in the presentation) when asked who must approve projects drawn from those funds.

Chief financial staff (referenced in the presentation as Ms. Dabrowski) also provided monthly and calendar-year cash-flow projections across the education, operations and referendum funds. The slides showed that, as of February 2025, the district held just under $38 million in reserves across major funds and that operations and education fund projections had substantial remaining budgeted balances for the calendar year. Presenters noted that the district has historically transferred somewhat above the typical 15% cap between funds (they stated current transfers near 18%) and said staff plan to move toward the statutory 15% average over time.

Board members asked clarifying questions about approval authority for projects and were told the listed staff (Duwap and Pete Miller) handle approvals; staff did not provide additional documentation during the meeting to reconcile every figure on the slides.

The finance presentation included historical assessed-value data and projected budget usage for 2025; presenters advised the board that assessed value in the district has increased year-over-year and that the operating referendum passed by voters in 2020 began levying in 2021 (as presented). No formal vote on budgets or transfers occurred at the meeting; the session was informational.