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Officials warn of severe shortfall; committee schedules retreat as district faces multi‑million dollar fund‑balance risk
Summary
Finance staff told the committee the district projects a $27.8M gross loss and an $18.1M general‑fund shortfall for FY25–26, leaving a projected fund‑balance deficit of about $3.9M; board members agreed to a June 13 retreat to consider school consolidations, staffing changes and other cost‑saving measures.
District finance and board members told the St. Landry Parish facilities and finance committee that the district faces a significant fiscal shortfall and that immediate planning is required to avoid an unlawful negative fund balance.
On the record, a finance official identified as Miss Granville told the committee that federal ESSER indirect‑cost funds had masked enrollment declines and that ESSER funds ended Sept. 30, 2024. She presented year‑by‑year purchase figures for copier paper and then outlined multi‑year fiscal results and projections: "We finished fiscal year 24–25 with a $6,700,000 loss," she said, and later presented an estimated gross loss of $27,800,000. "Of that was paid with restricted funds," she added; she said the district's projected general‑fund loss is about $18,100,000 and the projected fund‑balance deficit is $3,900,000.
Granville told the committee that the board cannot lawfully amend the FY25–26 budget in a way that produces a deficit. "We are unable to amend our fiscal year 25, 26 budget because doing so would put our fund balance into a deficit, which is against the law," she said.
Board members and other speakers urged prompt action. One speaker who advocated immediate district planning described a June 13 retreat to consider school mergers, consolidations and reductions in force. "Immediate decisions around school mergers... immediate decisions around reduction in force," the speaker said, urging district‑wide action over the summer to align operations with revenue forecasts.
A representative of the St. Landry Federation of Teachers and School Employees asked board members to monitor state activity on the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) funding formula, noting the legislature had created an ad hoc committee to study MFP changes that could materially affect local revenue assumptions. A local education reporter reminded the committee of a similar fiscal exigency in 2011, when the district sought state assistance and reduced its workforce to stabilize operations.
The committee scheduled a retreat for June 13 at 1:00 p.m. to develop a plan of options — including school consolidations, transfers and staffing changes — to bring the district’s budget into legal compliance and to present options to the full board.
