Caswell County Board hears midyear finances, recommends ATSI funding and teacher‑support plan; calendar debate raises legal caution

The Caswell County Board of Education on Jan. 27 received a midyear financial review that raised concern about available local reserves, reviewed an application for an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) designation for Dillard Elementary with a proposed spending plan, discussed a redesigned summer learning program, and reviewed a newly revised beginning‑teacher support plan. Board members also debated two 2025–26 school calendar options; the district attorney warned that choosing an early‑start calendar could expose the board to legal challenge.

The finance presentation, led in the meeting by Brooke (district finance staff), covered the district’s 50% quarterly reports across local, state and federal accounts. Brooke said the district’s state allocations were “only spent 45%,” and noted several line‑item accounting differences between state PRC codes and the district’s four‑digit purpose codes that make some percentages look misleading. On local funds, Brooke and other staff said the budget currently appropriates more than $600,000 from fund balance and that the district’s remaining balance could be roughly $1.4 million by year‑end — “that’s not even enough to carry one month of payroll,” one official warned in the meeting.

Board members discussed several capital items during the finance review. The district reported it has an electric school bus under award but not yet on the books because the paperwork and delivery are pending; a district staff member said, “that is the electric bus because we have not received that yet. I haven't got the paperwork to even put that in our books yet.” Staff said auditors will carry a purchase order across fiscal years if delivery occurs after June 30. Capital outlay spending planned in an upcoming budget amendment will add about $35,000 to the capital outlay budget once one late bid for Civic Center repairs is removed from the amendment.

Before‑and‑after‑school programs drew…