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Ouachita Parish finance committee recommends budget revision amid projected $386,000 general fund shortfall
Summary
The committee voted to recommend General Fund operating budget revision No. 1 for the period ending June 30, 2026, after staff warned of a $386,000 projected shortfall driven by a $2 million MFP loss and lower-than-expected indirect cost recoveries from federal program rollovers.
The Ouachita Parish Finance Committee on an unspecified date recommended a revision to the General Fund operating budget for the period ending June 30, 2026, after staff reported a projected general fund deficit of $386,000.
Regina Mecas, presenting the proposed revision, said the district faces an approximately $2,000,000 loss tied to a lower student count under the MFP formula and roughly $1,000,000 less in indirect-cost reimbursements because federal program funds are being rolled forward under recent waivers. "We are looking to end the general fund with a deficit of 386,000," Mecas said.
Mecas walked the committee through function- and object-level projections, noting the district projected to spend federal and state cost-reimbursement grants only for the remainder of the fiscal year and that auditors would be consulted before changing projection methods. On maintenance-and-operations (M&O) funds, she said an earlier projection showed a negative $3,000,000 but that current work reduced the expected year-end shortfall to about $2.5 million as the district absorbs costs it had previously carried in ESSER-funded accounts.
The presentation also addressed capital purchases and dedicated tax funds. Mecas said the district purchased 13 buses this year and explained that the 1968 and 1995 sales tax funds carry multi-month collections in reserve until distribution months. She said combined debt-service funds carry about $18,000,000 in reserve to ensure timely debt payments.
After questions and clarification — including a brief discussion of 16th-section timber sale proceeds being held for replanting — a motion to recommend the general fund revision to the full board passed with no recorded opposition in the transcript.
The committee's recommendation sends the budget revision to the full board for final action; the transcript does not record a meeting date for the committee vote or roll-call vote tallies.
