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District staff report narrower deficit but transportation reimbursement shortfall remains
Summary
Staff told the Mercer County School District 404 board the original budget projected a $2.2 million Education Fund deficit but an amended budget reduces that to roughly $555,000, while state transportation reimbursements were prorated and are falling well short of expected levels.
Staff member (S1) told the board that the district’s originally adopted Education Fund budget predicted a $2,200,000 deficit but that an amended budget now projects about a $555,000 shortfall after additional revenues, expense reclassifications and use of working cash.
“The original budget that you adopted last September is predicting a deficit in the Ed Fund of $2,200,000,” S1 said, adding that the amended budget reduces the projected deficit to roughly $555,000.
S1 identified transportation funding as a persistent pressure: the state was “supposed to reimburse 80% of those costs,” but this year the reimbursement was prorated at 62%, meaning the district received substantially less than the expected 80% share. That shortfall, along with one‑time expenses such as new vehicle purchases, contributed to ongoing strain on transportation and the operations and maintenance fund.
S1 also said the district purchased two new school buses and other vehicles and warned that a large lump sum buyout could fall due in FY2028 if the district proceeds with a three‑year lease‑purchase agreement for current buses.
On program offerings, S1 said the district can continue to offer the courses students expect but will run fewer sections in some classes because of staffing constraints. S1 told the board the district hopes to resume paying dual‑credit and AP fees for students before next year, removing that cost barrier for eligible students.
S1 described Fund 60 (sales tax capital projects fund) as generating roughly $600,000–$650,000 annually and noted allowable uses include technology, school resource officers and mental‑health professionals; staff discussed—but did not decide—whether some positions now paid from the Education Fund could be moved to Fund 60.
S1 closed by noting several administrative items for future action, including potential modest increases to milk and PE uniform prices, and listed two pending FOIA requests seeking vendor lists or purchase orders.
The items reported by staff were presented as informational or as recommendations; no formal board votes on the budget revisions or the transportation purchases are recorded in the transcript.
