Schools report $983,075 year-end surplus; request reversion funds for temporary classrooms

Vice Chair Jeff Seeley opened the joint work session and framed the night as a discussion about numbers and needs rather than votes. A county finance official reported preliminary figures showing the school division ended the fiscal year with a $983,075 surplus after transfers and accounting adjustments, and cautioned those numbers will be finalized when the county audit is complete.

School leaders said that, as previously requested, they would like the board to consider allocating the $983,075 year-end reversion to pay for temporary classroom trailers for Lewis and Clark Elementary. A school representative noted the trailers would be temporary and that the division can use reserved construction funds to fill any remaining gap, pointing to a prior similar installation at Bowling Green Elementary as an example. "Their expenses were $61,449,614.29. Their revenues were $62,432,615.04. So the delta of that is $983,075," the finance official said when summarizing the numbers.

Supervisors asked whether the school and county calculations were reconciled; school staff said the figures matched the division's refined calculations but that the county audit is not yet finalized. Board members and school staff agreed it is reasonable to treat the $983,075 as available pending audit completion and recommended staff bring an appropriation ordinance or clear action language to an upcoming meeting if the audit confirms the amount. One supervisor pressed that any transfer should be accompanied by a clear purpose statement so voters and citizens understand how the reversion will be spent.

The board agreed to discuss the appropriation and trailer procurement timelines at its August meeting and requested written backup showing remaining construction-fund balances and precise trailer cost estimates.