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District CFO reports 2023–24 surplus, warns of state cash deferrals and fading federal funds
Summary
Lancaster School District’s chief financial officer told the board the district closed 2023–24 with reported unrestricted and restricted surpluses and strong reserves but cautioned that federal one‑time funds are sunsetting and the state’s cash deferral schedule will shift revenues into later fiscal months.
Maria, the district’s chief financial officer, presented the 2023–24 financial report and said the district ended the year with reported surpluses in both unrestricted and restricted funds. She stated that unrestricted operations produced a surplus of $1.84 million and restricted programs produced a surplus of $5.86 million, which the presentation summarized as a combined increase of about $7.82 million for the year.
The presentation broke down major revenue buckets and expenditures. The speaker described LCFF and state revenue as the largest unrestricted sources and noted federal revenue has declined as one‑time pandemic funds and ESSER grants sunset. Maria described total supplies and services across restricted and unrestricted accounts as approximately $62.96 million as presented to the board and listed several categories of purchase orders, including field trips and technology licensing.
Board members pressed for context. The CFO explained that although the district will face state cash deferrals (a projected June deferral was discussed that would delay some revenue until July), the district’s assigned reserves and prior board‑approved assignments provide cash to meet payroll and obligations. The presenter described multi‑year budgeting and cash‑flow analysis requirements the district follows to demonstrate solvency through payroll cycles.
The report highlighted per‑student spending trends across the pandemic and recovery years and emphasized that federal one‑time dollars that boosted per‑student federal spending are winding down; state and local ongoing streams such as Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) remain an important revenue source. The CFO told the board the district is positioned to manage the upcoming deferral because of its reserve strategy and pre‑paid multi‑year contracts in areas such as adoptions and information‑technology commitments.
The board accepted the presentation and asked staff to return with additional budget detail as needed for future agenda items and action items.
Ending: The board moved on to the next agenda item after the finance presentation; no formal action on the 2024–25 proposed budget was taken at this time.
