Finance director warns of multi-year gap under current assumptions; FY25 preliminary revised budget presented

Pam Carmen, the district’s finance director, presented the general fund revenue and expenditure picture, highlighted restricted federal funding (special education and Title) and recent increases in property-and-casualty and workers’ compensation costs, and walked the board through audited fund balances and long-range fiscal projections.

Carmen said federal revenue accounts for roughly 1.5% of the district’s general fund and is concentrated in two buckets: federal special education (about 88% of the federal total) and Title funding (about 12%). She said local revenue increases in the current statements are affected by recent interest earnings that are being allocated across funds. On expenditures, Carmen flagged rising insurance and work-comp costs and noted the district carries restricted and assigned fund-balance components that administration is rebuilding after earlier draws.

Using conservative assumptions — a 2% state general formula allowance, steady staffing levels and contractual salary/benefit commitments — Carmen presented a projection showing revenue and expenditures aligning in the short term but moving to a deficit in fiscal year 2027 and larger gaps in 2028 if no corrective action is taken. The board discussed enrollment projection methods, timing and the plan to present a final FY25 revised budget in April; administrators said preliminary FY25 figures show a modest improvement over the original FY25 adoption, but long-range settlement costs and enrollment declines will require planning.

Administrators said they will include enrollment-adjustment assumptions in April’s work and continue to monitor restricted revenue usage and E-Rate and other timing issues.