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Calcasieu Parish school board adopts capital improvement fund with 40% salary allocation
Summary
The Calcasieu Parish School Board adopted a resolution to create a capital improvement fund that directs 40% of identified one-time/excess revenues to salaries and benefits, 40% to capital projects, 10% to the general fund and 10% toward hurricane costs or debt repayment after discussion about FEMA reimbursements and debt priorities.
The Calcasieu Parish School Board on Dec. 10 adopted a resolution to establish a capital improvement fund to set aside portions of one-time or excess revenues for salaries, projects and hurricane-related costs.
The measure, moved as Resolution G by a board member and seconded by another, sets a formula that would earmark 40% of those funds for salaries and benefits, 40% for a capital improvement fund to pay for school projects, 10% to the general fund and 10% reserved for future hurricane costs and debt repayment. The board voted verbally and the motion carried.
The resolution’s chief proponent, identified in the meeting as a committee member, framed the change as a proactive budgeting tool: “It’s pretty simple, and it’s a 1 or 2 page resolution that something we probably should have done a while back,” the committee member said, arguing the policy makes the use of intermittent revenues transparent and allows the district to present tangible projects to voters.
Opposition focused on debt priorities and long-term risk. A board member who opposed the motion warned that the district should use extra funds to pay down hurricane-related loans before allocating money to projects, saying, “If we get these storms … we’re going to be in debt up to our eyeballs,” and urged caution about diverting one-time revenue to capital spending while debt remains outstanding.
Board members discussed FEMA reimbursements and timing. During the debate a member summarized staff estimates that FEMA and other cost-share reimbursements would reduce outstanding hurricane-related debt but said the exact reimbursements were still flowing in. The superintendent clarified that reimbursements are expected to arrive over time and that the resolution’s 10% hurricane/debt reserve was intended to help manage outstanding obligations while also funding future resilience.
Members also debated mechanics and legal constraints for tying revenues to specific projects (for example, linking to ITEP projects). One member noted there may be legal or procedural limits on directly channeling sales-tax receipts to individual ITEP projects and said staff would continue working on implementation details.
The board approved the resolution by voice vote. Supporters said the fund will allow officials to identify and approve one-time projects (HVAC repairs, track resurfacing, local facility work) when intermittent “mega” revenues arrive, while critics urged careful sequencing so debt obligations and school financial resilience are not compromised.
Next steps: staff will refine implementation details, including how projects are identified and whether distribution will be adjusted by student counts or bonding-district formulas, and return those details to the board for future action.
