Sumter School District presents FY2025 budget showing $3.37M gap; superintendent says no millage request
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Sumter School District officials presented a FY2025 budget showing projected increased expenditures of $10.78 million and a revenue shortfall of about $3.37 million to be covered from fund balance. Superintendent William Wright said the district is not requesting a millage increase this year; council members pressed on recurring-cost risks of using fund balance.
Sumter County Council on June 11 heard the Sumter School District’s FY2025 budget presentation from Finance Director Shatika Spearman and Superintendent Dr. William Wright. Spearman said the district projects $10,783,684 in increased expenditures and $7,413,790 in increased revenues, leaving a $3,369,894 gap that would be addressed from the district’s fund balance.
The presentation listed six budget priorities: professional development, facility improvements, mental health support and nurses, workforce recruitment and retention, post-ESSER operations, and leveraging the fund balance. Spearman presented projected revenue items including ad valorem taxes, interest on investments, and state aid; she told council the district’s fund balance currently stands at $51,000,000 and cited state and auditor guidance that recommend multi-month reserves.
"Surprisingly this year, we’re not asking for a millage increase," Dr. William Wright said, explaining the district intends to use fund balance rather than raise the millage rate. Wright and Spearman told council that some one-time ESSER funds are ending in September 2024, and that using fund balance for recurring operating costs would deplete reserves.
Council members questioned the risks. Councilman Carlton B. Washington cautioned against funding recurring expenses with one-time reserves, saying using the fund balance for recurring costs "is absolutely against the accounting best practices." Councilman Eugene R. Baten framed the issue as part of broader performance concerns in the district and pointed to historic underfunding; he said, "if the house is on fire, the first thing to do is to put out the fire," urging prioritization of struggling schools.
Spearman said auditors recommend roughly three months of reserves (approximately $36 million) and that the district’s fiscal projections could change with final state decisions. Council took the presentation "as information" with no council action required at the meeting.
The district plans a second and final budget reading at a called meeting currently proposed for June 13, 2024.