Danbury School District finance committee reviews February financials, flags $5.1M unspent funds

The Danbury School District finance committee on March 18 reviewed February financial reports and heard that the district recorded $12.8 million in expenses for the month and is carrying roughly $5.1 million in unspent funds as of the end of February, Mike said.

Mike told the committee the district’s year-to-date spending since July totals about $93.1 million and that approximately $74 million has been encumbered against a $172 million operating budget. "Right now, as of the end of February, we're floating around a 5.1 million surplus," he said, adding the figure will decline as expenses are paid and additional encumbrances are recorded.

Why it matters: the committee said understanding which charges are one-time and which are recurring is key for preparing the FY27 budget. Mike said some of the apparent variances reflect one-time spend-downs and coding discrepancies that he plans to review with facilities and IT before publishing a finalized list. He pledged to provide the committee an itemized list of those one-time charges within a few days.

ARPA and benefits: Kate asked whether benefits currently charged to ARPA will need replacement when ARPA funds expire. Mike said shifting some benefit costs to ARPA accounts accounts for a portion of the favorable benefits balance but that those positions and their benefits are accounted for in next year’s general-fund budget: "Because we budgeted by person for next year, those people are accounted for as well as their benefits in the next year's budget in the general fund," he said.

Special education and outside providers: Mike warned that special-education costs can be unpredictable when students join the district with little notice or when outside providers raise rates. He said the district closely monitors placements and works with a third-party administrator to review health and benefits spending.

Line items and encumbrance practice: The committee reviewed salary lines, benefits, professional services and other-purchase-services, with Mike noting salary vacancies have driven favorable variances while professional and technical services reflect substantial one-time charges he expects to clarify. He said certain lines—transportation and tuition for out-of-district special-education placements—should be reviewed together to understand combined exposure.

Purchase-order timing and audit posture: To avoid auditors forcing late-year receipts into the next fiscal year, Mike asked staff to submit known purchase orders early and to review open POs monthly. He said the finance office has hired an assistant to run monthly PO reviews; the committee supported the change.

Grants and staffing updates: Mike named Angela Walsh as the designer of the new line-item report and Wanita Luna as the current grants coordinator. He said Oneanita (spelled "Oneita" elsewhere in the transcript) will move into a senior accountant role and an internal candidate has accepted the grants-coordinator backfill. He also said the district hired an operations/field service manager for the school lunch program—Doug Langage, formerly with Sodexo—under Chartwells’ contract. Long-time accounts-payable employee Bev Nicely has announced her retirement; the district said it will hire a higher-level replacement to strengthen vendor management and ensure compliance with federal 2 C.F.R. 200 rules for federal funds.

Next steps: Mike will provide the committee with the itemized spend-down list soon. The committee agreed to wait until the next finance meeting to move funds into the district’s 2% reserve account so it can present exact amounts and the draft policy governing the reserve. The meeting adjourned after a motion by Sean and a second from Kate; the transcript records verbal assent but does not include a roll-call vote.

(Quoted speakers are identified from the meeting transcript.)