Poteau district finances: timing impacts ad valorem revenue, two electric buses now in service

A staff member reviewed the district’s monthly treasury and said general-fund revenue was down for the month because of ad valorem timing but that year-to-date ad valorem receipts were about $100,000 higher than last year. “Year to date, right now, we are up about a 100,000 in our general fund ad valorem,” the staff member told the board.

The building fund received roughly $452,000 in Redbud this month, the finance update said, and child-nutrition revenue was affected by timing of federal claims; the district also received a local food/meat grant of approximately $25,000 that boosted child-nutrition revenues. The staff noted expenditures had risen for payroll, benefits and unplanned snow-and-ice clearing costs.

Facilities and transportation staff reported that two electric buses were received and paid for in February and are now in service on daily routes; the charging station is operational. The superintendent added that purchasing buses this year moves the district’s planned purchases forward: “that means next year we're not planning on making a purchase for buses,” he said, calling it a way to ‘pay it forward’ in the budget.

Facilities staff said the district now has three electric buses total, covering three of 18 daily routes, and that the buses are being routed where regenerative braking provides an operational advantage. Staff also noted a recent isolated fault that required returning a bus to the shop, calling it part of a learning curve.

Board members asked questions and received clarifications about purchased POs tied to maintenance, turf and building projects and the timing of loan payments affecting year-to-date comparisons. The board took no separate action on financial items beyond regular consent approvals.