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Marlington treasurer reports forecast shortfall driven by salary and grant timing; board approves routine financial items
Summary
Treasurer said the district ended the year with a slight cash decline and was approximately $367,000 below forecast, mainly because of an unfavorable salary variance (~$233,000) and grant-timing shifts; the board approved July financials and several budget amendments including a McKinney‑Vento grant.
The Marlington Local School District treasurer told the board Aug. 15 that the district’s general-fund cash balance decreased by $26,845 from the prior year and finished about $367,000 lower than projected in the forecast.
Bob told the board the shortfall was driven primarily by higher-than-expected expenditures rather than revenue. He listed three main contributors: an extra payout into the retirement fund tied to retirements (about $68,500), exhaustion of IDEA‑B special-education grant money that required shifting approximately $98,500 to the general fund, and unusually high maternity leave/substitute costs (about $70,000). Supplies were also up, in part because the district approved about $65,000 of electronic curriculum materials in April that were not forecasted.
On salaries specifically, Bob described an ‘‘unfavorable variance’’ of roughly $233,000 and told board members these increases reflect both retiree payouts and the need to cover substitutes and temporary coverage. He also noted interest income of about $550,500 helped offset some pressures.
During the regular meeting the board approved the monthly financial reports for July (general-fund cash balance noted in the packet) and passed revenue and budget revisions that added $3,154 for a McKinney‑Vento homeless-assistance grant and removed a one-time stronger-connections appropriation from federal fund 584 that was not continued into the current fiscal year.
The board discussed piloting the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) — offering free breakfast and lunch — for a year. Bob said the food‑service fund carries about $460,000 in cash balance, giving the district room to trial CEP and measure reimbursements and per‑building impacts before committing to a permanent change.
Personnel-related financial items were also considered: the board approved an amendment to the treasurer’s 2024–25 contract and a new five-year contract with multi-year base-pay and annuity terms read into the record during the meeting. The treasurer read totals and year-by-year base-pay figures as part of the motion; board members voted to approve the package.
Votes at a glance: the board approved the monthly financial reports, the listed budget amendments, the COPS & School agreement with the county sheriff’s deputies and the strategic plan; it tabled approval of the July 18 minutes pending a corrected roll-call record.
What’s next: administrators will track the IDEA‑B and other restricted fund reallocations, monitor the CEP trial results after the first year, and provide final invoices to reconcile the HVAC and other summer-project costs cited during the work session.
