Beloit School District reports $15 million December inflow; committee forwards monthly financials to full board

The Beloit School District’s Business Operations & Finance Committee heard a monthly financial report Feb. 4 showing revenues for December greatly exceeded expenses, driven largely by a December state equalization aid payment and one-time reimbursements. Committee members voted to forward the report to the full school board.

Tom Chaney, speaking for the district finance team, told the committee that total inflows for December exceeded outflows by roughly $15 million. He said general fund revenue for the month was about $20.8 million, while general fund expenditures were just over $5 million. Chaney said the district typically sees several high-revenue months each year when state aid is paid, and December is one of them.

Chaney said a major driver was the district’s state equalization aid payment; fiscal-year-to-date state aid stood at about $27.2 million compared with roughly $24.4 million at the same point last year. He also reported federal reimbursements: final ESSER III reimbursements and ARPA-related summer-school reimbursements contributed to revenue for the month.

The finance presentation noted some reporting issues: two 91-day certificates of deposit totaling $6 million purchased in mid‑December were omitted from the posted cash-and-investment summary. Chaney said correcting that omission raises the district’s reported cash and investments for the month from about $17.7 million to about $23.7 million, and that the district had about 35 days of liquidity at month end (up from a low of about five days in November).

On expenditures, Chaney said salaries and benefits made up about 76.7% of general‑fund spending in December. He noted lower salary spending compared with the prior year in part because of vacancies and some contracted services that appear in purchase‑services lines rather than salary lines. Chaney also called out construction services and HVAC project charges at Beloit Memorial High School that affected year‑to‑date purchase‑services totals.

Committee members asked questions about the cash reporting omission and the employee benefit trust fund. Chaney said the employee benefit trust (Fund 73) logged an unrealized market loss of about $54,000 in December; half the fund is in a money‑market account and half invested in marketable securities, so market volatility can produce monthly gains or losses.

Outcome: Committee member moved and seconded the motion to forward the monthly financials to the full board; the committee recorded the motion as carried unanimously.

What this means: The December aid inflow substantially improved the district’s short‑term cash position. The finance staff flagged a reporting omission for correction and identified ongoing expense drivers — especially salaries/benefits and special‑education purchase services — that will continue to shape the budget outlook.