The school district will have almost $500,000 more than it
expected this year due to late state-funding notices, rising
interest rates and leasing out its buses.
Gilroy – The school district will have almost $500,000 more than it expected this year due to late state-funding notices, rising interest rates and leasing out its buses.
This year the Gilroy Unified School District will have an additional $453,484 in its general fund, which can be spent on such items as teacher salaries or instructional programs, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Steve Brinkman said.
Trustees unanimously approved a resolution to accept a report of the increased revenues – which give the district a projected year-end balance of $1.3 million above a state-mandated 3-percent reserve – at a Sept. 20 board meeting.
Trustees were pleased with the news, but wondered if it might signal trouble in district planning.
“Are there any red lights flashing about any of our programs that we’re under-spending or over-spending?” trustee Rhoda Bress asked.
The money resulted from a confluence of events and programs, Brinkman said. One factor was the district did not spend as much money in its categorical programs – state- and federally sponsored programs with money restricted to particular purposes, such as migrant education, he said.
This was because the district received late apportionment notices – which let the district know how much program money it will receive – and rules and regulations on how the money could be spent.
Among other expenditures and revenues, the district was reimbursed 29 cents more by the state for each of its about 10,000 pupils, earned $106,000 more than expected in investment interest and reaped almost $93,000 by leasing buses to companies and school districts.
The increased funds came during a district “spending freeze,” enacted in January when the district’s general fund was facing a deficit.
The freeze meant that the increased funds are available for this fiscal year, which runs through June 2008.
The increased funds could help offset the money that has been spent hiring teachers to accommodate the district’s 3.3 percent increase in students, Brinkman said. This is higher than the 1.5-percent increase district staff anticipated, he said.
“We are getting a pretty amazing enrollment numbers,” he said. “We’ve also added 2.7 (full time equivalent employees) to support that.”
The increased funds will also mean higher balances in 2009 and 2010 of $2.4 and $3.8 million above the state-mandated reserve, respectively, district figures indicate. District staff will give a more complete report on the district’s finances at a Dec. 6 board meeting.
