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Carson City School District presents general fund picture: $98.9M in resources, $3.5M structural deficit highlighted

Carson City School Board · March 24, 2026

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Summary

District finance staff reviewed three remaining funds (summer school, gifts and donations, general fund), outlined a $205,000 summer-school budget, described restricted donations, and presented a general fund of $98.9M with $86.3M budgeted and a projected structural deficit near $3.5M if current spending continues.

At a pre-meeting workshop staff presented the district’s remaining fund summaries and a high-level look at the general fund, focusing on revenues, major expenditure categories and planned transfers.

Finance director Spencer Woodward told trustees the summer school fund is budgeted at $205,000 (about $131,000 for extra-duty salaries and roughly $73,800 for supplies). He said ESSER and pandemic-era SR funds that previously covered summer programming have been exhausted and that the district plans a $25,000 transfer this year from the general fund.

Woodward described the gifts and donations fund as a repository for restricted private gifts (examples included the Dolan class project and donations from Carson City Toyota); the district budgets conservatively for donations and honors donor restrictions. He estimated a budgeted gifts total of $328,000 with an opening fund balance near $128,000.

The general fund overview showed $98.9M in resources, driven by the pupil-centered funding plan (PCFP) at roughly $79.5M and an $18M audited opening balance. Budgeted expenditures total $86.3M; salary and benefits account for about $65M (roughly 612 FTEs funded from general fund lines). Transfers out total about $10.1M (special education ~$9.2M, at-risk fund ~$600k, etc.) and a $1M contingency remains. Woodward and trustees discussed cost drivers, PERS estimates (roughly 32% of salary lines as a ballpark), and the Jump Start program (estimated support costs $200,000–$300,000). He warned that continuing a roughly $3.5M structural deficit would exhaust reserves in several years without changes.

Trustees asked for further detail — a clearer “cut sheets” view of where reductions might fall, a breakdown of certified/classified/administrative salary components, and follow-up analysis on funding alternatives for special education and summer school. Woodward said staff will supply more granular worksheets ahead of budget approval.