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Hammond board hears year-end finances; state notifies district it missed teacher-salary funding floor
Summary
At its Feb. 4 meeting the School City of Hammond board received a year-end financial report showing most fund balances and learned the Indiana Department of Education found the district did not meet the state funding floor for teacher salaries in FY2024; trustees asked staff for more detailed budget and staffing reports.
The School City of Hammond Board of Trustees on Feb. 4 reviewed a year-end financial report and acknowledged a Department of Education notice that the district did not meet the state funding floor for teacher salaries.
Carl Sender of Sender Dalton Financial Services presented the monthly report for the year ended Dec. 31, 2024, saying the education fund’s ending cash balance was "13,584,182" and that the district had repaid tax anticipation warrants and moved referendum monies into operations and rainy-day funds. Sender noted the education fund was "just slightly under our Target" of $14,415,000. He also summarized other balances including the operations fund and rainy-day fund and offered to answer trustees’ questions.
Trustees asked staff to add title funds to the packet and to include a single grand-total line that aggregates all funds, including grant accounts, so the public can see how balances change as money is spent. One trustee requested a more detailed budget than the summary-level forms currently available in the district’s Gateway system; staff said they would investigate and provide additional detail at the March meeting.
During the presentation the board read a Department of Education memo addressed to Dr. Wilson and Alicia Pritchet that reported the district’s full-time and temporary teacher salary expenditures fell from a 2023 funding-floor figure of "$38,258,221" to "$34,561,333" in fiscal 2024. Under Indiana Code 20-28-9-27 the board publicly acknowledged receipt of that notice and directed staff to enter the letter into the minutes and post it on the district website within 30 days.
Public commenters highlighted related concerns, asking for clarity on longevity-pay timing, the status of vacant positions after layoffs and resignations, and whether not filling vacancies had produced measurable cost savings. A trustee asked staff to prepare a report showing positions that remain unfilled and any net effect on payroll costs.
What’s next: Trustees asked for the more detailed fund and budget information at the March meeting and instructed staff to post the DOE notice on the district website as required.
