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Gary schools report healthy education fund but flag operations pressures and aging fleet
Summary
At the Nov. 13 board meeting the district reported a $23.15 million education-fund balance (Sept. 2025), $3.78 million in referendum funds and $7.5 million in operations funds, noted an $1.3M shifted transportation invoice and detailed a plan to audit and sell aging vehicles to fund replacements.
The Gary Community School Corporation’s finance presenter reported the district remained "in line" with its 2025 budget as of September but cautioned that the operations fund requires careful monitoring.
Presenter Zaborowski told the board the education fund had an ending balance of $23,149,000 as of September, the referendum fund held roughly $3,783,000 and the operations fund had an ending balance of $7,505,000. She said the district received approximately 50% of the expected property-tax disbursement to date and noted that transfers between funds (including a legally permitted 15% transfer from the education fund) are part of maintaining operations.
Zaborowski said transportation invoices for August and September were delayed because a vendor (First Student, per transcript reference) experienced software issues; those unpaid charges were moved into October and will represent roughly $1.3 million in expense when billed. The presenter described the operations fund as the district’s "most challenging" fund and flagged the need to monitor transfers and cash-flow timing.
On fleet management, the presenter said many district vehicles are aging, with repeated downtime and missing parts, and proposed an audit and disposition plan: catalog vehicles, invite buyers or scrap offers via the district website, and use proceeds to support replacement purchases or cooperative purchasing discounts.
Board members asked for slides and documentation to be added to the meeting packet; the presenter agreed to provide materials for review. One board member recommended exploring online auction services and said such resources would be shared.
What this means: The district reports a solid education-fund reserve but faces near-term cash-flow variability tied to transportation invoicing and aging fleet costs. The board will receive additional documentation and the finance office plans follow-up work to evaluate vehicle disposition and replacement options.
