Budget preview: Grants‑Cibola finance staff point to roughly $700,000 in alternative revenue, note FY22‑23 audit finding

At the March 4 Grants‑Cibola County Schools board meeting, finance staff walked trustees through the district’s budget documents and identified several non‑tax revenue streams the district uses for discretionary spending and one‑time expenses.

Mr. Jones, the district finance lead, told the board the district receives annual alternative revenue from sources that are not part of core state and federal student funding: about $312,500 from the Red Mesa wind farm, approximately $128,700 from a local solar energy arrangement and about $336,399 from Forest Service receipts, figures Jones said were taken from prior audits and that total roughly $700,000. "This money is directly given to the school district...so we have a little bit more freedom with how we can spend this fund," Jones said.

Jones also explained the district has voter‑approved capacity to issue roughly $10 million in bonds for capital projects and that the district maintains an investment account to generate interest income for one‑off expenses.

During discussion about operational accounts, a trustee flagged an uncommon balance in the 11,000 (operational) account. Jones acknowledged the FY22‑23 audit had flagged the item as a finding and said corrective action had been taken and settled with the state; he offered to provide the audit note to the board for review. The board requested a more accessible breakdown of the operational (11,000) fund and asked staff to prepare focused line‑item reports for trustees ahead of budget decisions.

Trustees stressed the importance of seeing current, fund‑specific reports (particularly for the operational account) and discussed transportation funding pressures and the need to monitor high‑cost line items. Mr. Jones invited board members to the spring budget workshop and said staff would provide additional, customized reports on request.