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Board approves bus purchase, hears SPLOST/bond planning and finance update
Summary
Trustees approved routine consent items including a new bus purchase (state reimbursement $88,110; estimated local expense $56,792), received a finance presentation showing roughly $3.9 million in additional revenue since December and a possible $2.5 million surplus, and discussed SPLOST/bond sequencing and capital projects at Murray County High School.
The Murray County school board approved multiple consent items and a purchase order for a new school bus at its Jan. 5 meeting, while also hearing detailed finance and capital-planning updates from district staff.
Finance staff told trustees the state contributes $88,110 per bus; the district will buy one bus now and expects its local net expense to be about $56,792 after the state reimbursement. The meeting record shows the purchase order and bus acquisition were presented for approval and the board approved the requests by voice vote.
On district finances, staff reported roughly $35 million in revenue and about $32 million in expenditures through the most recent reporting window, and said the district moved $10.2 million into an investment account to earn interim interest while bond/SPLOST spending is finalized. Staff said collections produced an additional $3.9 million since December and that, with accruals, the current position could show a potential $2.5 million surplus at this point in the year.
Trustees discussed SPLOST transition steps for closing one SPLOST account and opening another for the next cycle, and staff said the district will present a specific agenda item to authorize those account actions when bond proceeds and SPLOST funds become available. Staff also reviewed capital needs at Murray County High School — including cafeteria and front-office phases and ongoing HVAC and roofing maintenance — and noted that capital outlay reimbursement is a reimbursement program that requires upfront district funding.
A trustee asked that an artificial turf field at Murray County High School be put on a consideration list; staff explained capital outlay cannot be used for turf and that such projects require other funding sources, donations or bond/SPLOST allocations. Staff said long-range planning will coordinate capital outlay, SPLOST excess funds and bond payments to sequence major projects by priority.
Other consent items the board approved by voice vote included minutes, field-trip requests (including an overnight CTAE trip and a deposit for a summer football camp at Mercer County High School), personnel docket items, and a finance statement motion that passed. The meeting record shows several items were approved without a recorded roll-call tally.
The board also acknowledged security-camera purchase orders for North Murray High School that had been approved earlier by poll. The district indicated it will continue capital and maintenance work while planning larger bond- or SPLOST-funded projects.
