District finance presentation shows FY25 fund balance at 23.25%; proposed amendment would lower current-year balance to ~18.37%
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Summary
Finance consultant Carol Embry presented a new financial reporting format and a budget amendment reducing all‑fund revenues by $6,366,001.32 and expenditures by $5,000,005.53, with transfers including $15,150,000 to capital and $16,089,055 to the teacher fund. Board members requested a June study session for deeper review.
Carol Embry, a finance consultant working with North Kansas City Schools, presented an expanded financial report on Feb. 24 that the district intends to use going forward to improve transparency and compliance with Missouri statute.
Embry reviewed fund structure and statutory requirements, explained a five‑year forecast included in board materials and recommended a budget amendment. She said the district closed FY25 with a 23.25% operating fund balance and that the posted budget amendment would move the current‑year ending fund balance to approximately 18.37%.
Key figures Embry presented include an unused operating budget in FY23 of 4.63% (about $6.6 million), FY24 unused operating funds of about $3.5 million (2.31%), and FY25 unexpended budget of approximately $5.1 million (3.11%). The amendment package includes reductions in all‑fund revenues of $6,366,001.32 and reductions in all‑fund expenditures of $5,000,005.53; planned transfers posted for board consideration include $15,150,000 from operating to capital and a transfer of $16,089,055 to the teacher fund.
Embry also highlighted that about 80% of operating costs are salaries and benefits and emphasized maintaining an appropriate fund balance to protect against volatility in substitute, fuel and utility costs. She noted pending legislative activity and a governor‑appointed task force to revisit the state school‑funding formula with a deliverable due Dec. 1, 2026.
Board members thanked Embry for the clarity of the new format and expressed interest in a June study session to review the FY27 budget development and to better understand assumptions in the forecast. No formal vote on the budget amendment was recorded during this meeting; the presentation materials and amendment document were posted for future board action.
Next steps: Staff will continue to refine the FY27 budget timeline and return with more detailed capital and operating fund analyses for board review in upcoming months.
