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OPRF board approves $14.1 million in transfers to capital projects tied to Project 2
Summary
The Oak Park and River Forest High School board voted May 28 to transfer $9.0 million from the Education Fund and $5.1 million from Operations & Maintenance into the Capital Projects Fund as part of a previously authorized Project 2 financing plan; administration said the timing preserves interest earnings and supports upcoming bills and construction cash flow.
The Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education voted May 28 to transfer $9,000,000 from the Education Fund and $5,100,000 from the Operations & Maintenance Fund to the Capital Projects Fund to pay construction bills tied to the district’s multi‑phase Project 2 plan. The roll‑call motion passed after an extended explanation from finance staff.
Tony, a district finance presenter, told the board the transfers are part of a 2023 funding plan that authorized about $44.2 million in fund‑balance support for capital work. “Part of that plan included $44.2 million of operating fund balance to be used to pay for that project,” he said, explaining the district delays some transfers so levy receipts and interest can be used to support classroom budgets while the district invests cash to earn additional interest before moving principal to capital.
Brian Imhof, the district’s director of finance (joining online), said the transfers come from fund balance rather than newly levied tax revenue and that delaying principal transfers temporarily preserves interest earnings in the Education Fund. He said the district used a mix of mechanisms — including earlier working‑cash abatement — to manage cash flow and that the practice is intended to maximize investment earnings without violating fund‑use rules.
Board members asked whether alternatives such as establishing a capital levy or moving money first into working cash would have avoided the transfers. Administration said both options had tradeoffs: creating a capital levy could reduce annual operating revenue allocations, while moving funds into working cash simply shifts the same accounting and interest‑allocation issues.
The vote follows the board’s earlier decision to authorize Fund‑Balance support for Project 2; administrators said Gilbane and the district continue to reconcile invoices and cash‑flow timing as construction progresses. The transfers were approved by roll‑call vote at the May 28 meeting.
