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District treasurer reports general fund in the red; superintendent says registration outreach recouped potential Title funding
Summary
CFO JT Anderson told the board the district ended the fiscal year with a negative general fund balance and a substantially larger SAFE fund after a bond sale; Superintendent Dr. Jared Smith said registration outreach identified 130+ students not logged for free/reduced eligibility, potentially unlocking roughly $130,000 in Title I funding.
The Waterloo Community School District board received a brief financial update on Nov. 24 in which Chief Financial Officer JT Anderson said the district's general fund ended the fiscal year in a negative position and other special-purpose funds showed large balances after recent transactions.
Anderson summarized major points from the annual report, saying the general fund finished the year "in a negative position of about $6.2 million," the SAFE fund increased to "over $75 million" after a June bond sale, and the internal print services fund ended the year "just under $140,000" in the red. He said auditors will review the fiscal year at a finance committee meeting and present fuller details to the full board in December. Anderson told the board the district expects fiscal year 2026 to be close to break-even and hopes fiscal year 2027 will restore a nonnegative fund balance.
In the superintendent's report later in the meeting, Dr. Jared Smith described a registration and outreach effort by the district's registration team that identified more than 130 students whose households had not been recorded as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. "For each the rule of thumb for Title funding is each free and reduced student you get an extra $1,000 roughly," Smith said. He estimated that capturing the additional students could yield about $130,000 in Title funding, subject to verification of eligibility.
Why it matters: A negative general fund balance constrains district operations and increases pressure to find savings or new revenue. Board members discussed print services, enterprise funds and allowable transfers from federal reimbursements. Smith and finance staff said they are reviewing options and will continue evaluating budget reductions and revenue opportunities.
Procedural notes: Anderson told the board there will be a finance committee meeting the following day where auditors will discuss the fiscal year in more detail; the full board will receive a follow-up report in December.
Next steps: Staff will continue committee-level audit review, provide a fuller report to the board in December, and follow up on Title funding verification and any adjustments to revenue projections.
