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Treasurer Martinez outlines April budget health and explains tentative bus-contract changes
Summary
Treasurer Martinez told the Pelican Rapids Public Schools board the district has collected about $11.7 million year-to-date and reviewed a tentative settlement with the district's busing contractor that shifts open-enrollment billing to a per-mile basis and adds a fuel escalator; the board discussed but took no final vote on the contract.
Treasurer Martinez reported the district has collected about $11.7 million so far this fiscal year and that roughly $4.4 million in revenue remains outstanding, largely tied to levy payments. "So far we've collected 72 percent of our overall budget in terms of revenue," Martinez said while reviewing April financial charts.
Martinez said total expenditures to date are about $13.3 million with approximately $2.8 million of forecasted expenditures remaining, and he described the district's investment strategy as a laddered purchase of short-term U.S. Treasury securities. He warned that state payment timing and a large January levy-related debt payment drive fluctuations in cash and reserves.
The treasurer presented a tentative settlement reached with the district's transportation providers (identified in the meeting as Brady Ballard, Troy Coach and Angie Berry). Martinez said the settlement moves the contract away from annual renewals toward a two-year initial model with a three-year increase schedule after that. Key negotiated changes Martinez summarized include:
- shifting open-enrollment billing from a per-household charge to a pay-per-mile approach for students already on a route, which Martinez called "a significant win for us" because it should reduce district costs for open-enrolled students; - a 3% increase in the monthly route charge for the coming year, with a multi-year escalator thereafter; - extracurricular mileage reimbursements rising from $2.00 to $2.50 per mile and the driver hourly rate increasing from $22 to $23; - reducing the contractor's previous four-hour minimum billing down to two hours per trip; - retaining a $60 per-route midday transportation charge for registered day-care pickups within district boundaries; and - a new fuel-escalator provision that requires the contractor to absorb fuel cost up to a set threshold ($3.75 per gallon for diesel and $2.75 per gallon for regular gasoline according to Martinez's summary) and passes costs over that threshold to the district.
"They were very transparent with us, willing to work with us," Martinez said of the contractor, adding the provider told district negotiators it can sometimes buy fuel in bulk and may be able to secure lower pricing. Martinez asked the board to approve the tentative settlement for inclusion in the business agenda; the meeting record shows the transportation item was presented for approval but the minutes record only the summary discussion rather than a final contract vote at this session.
Martinez also reviewed cash-on-hand and payables: the district recorded $835,000 in payables and $424,000 in payroll for April, leaving about $49,000 in checking at month-end and roughly $4.5 million in combined cash and investments. He said the district expects investments to recover toward $5.3 million to $5.5 million by June depending on market returns.
Next procedural steps noted by staff: negotiators will finalize documentation with the contractor and present a formal contract for the board's consideration at a future meeting. The board did not take a recorded roll-call vote on the transportation agreement during this session.
