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Cabarrus County Schools board approves 2025-26 closing budget with surplus from Medicaid reimbursements
Summary
Trustees approved final amendments to the 2025-26 budget after staff reported higher-than-expected Medicaid revenue and other year-end adjustments, increasing the final budget by roughly $1.1 million and projecting a local operating surplus of about $2.5–3.5 million.
The Cabarrus County Schools board voted July 13 to approve final amendments to the fiscal 2025-26 budget, accepting staff's recommendation after a summary of year-end financial activity.
Finance presenter Phil Henn told trustees the district had closed out a number of long-open purchase orders, rolling unused amounts back into fund balance. He estimated a local operating surplus in the $2.5 million to $3.5 million range for fiscal 25-26 and said that, after accounting for deferred revenue and final July expenses, the district was trending near $2.7 million. Henn also said fines and forfeitures came in significantly above budget and that Medicaid reimbursements ultimately exceeded expectations: initially reported Medicaid revenue was about $924,000 against a budget of $950,000, but three additional checks from the state Department of Health and Human Services totaled almost $1.4 million, bringing total Medicaid revenue to approximately $2.3 million for the year.
Henn explained that a year-end increase of about $1.0 million in guaranteed state allotments helped the state public school fund (Fund 1) and that some reclassifications and adjustments to funds 2, 3 and 8 had no net impact on overall totals. The closing resolution the board considered increased the 25-26 budget across funding sources by a little over $1.1 million.
On motion and second, the board voted by voice and the chair announced the closing-budget resolution passed.
Why it matters: The year-end surplus and stronger-than-expected Medicaid and fines revenue give the district more flexibility heading into the 2026-27 fiscal year and may affect decisions about fund-balance policies and one-time allocations. Henn cautioned that some revenue timing remained uncertain because payment timing from DHHS and the state controller can be unpredictable; he said the district can estimate amounts but not precisely control when payments arrive.
Next steps: Henn said auditors will finalize figures during the district's annual audit, with preliminary audit findings typically presented in mid-October and final reports in December.
