The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fund balance gets $42,000 boost
Budgeting for next school year has been a struggle for the Gunnison RE1J administration, as the state changed its funding levels—from low to lower—over the last legislative session. But despite seeing a cut in funding of about $1 million, the second draft of the district’s 2010-2011 budget shows a little boost to the fund balance.
District Business Manager Stephanie Juneau told the school board that in developing the second draft of the budget, she was able to give and take money from different areas of the budget to come up with an additional $42,000 to add to the fund balance that is already more than $2 million. The fund balance is the savings the district would fall back on in an emergency.
Juneau said it’s important that the fund balance grows right now along with the growing instability to the district’s funding. That $2 million would be enough to let the district keep operating for only 55 days if all of the other money dried up—about $38,000 a day. So the added money isn’t buying the district a lot of time.
The second draft of the budget shows that Juneau is expecting to get about $60,000 less in specific ownership tax, “because in the last several months that source of revenue has been coming in less than previously in the year. So we’re budgeting that down a little bit to be on the conservative side.”
A couple of the other funds that the district has had to hang on to, like the capital reserve fund and the insurance fund, aren’t being required this year by the state.
“In the past, they have called these special revenue funds, but there’s no longer a special revenue fund to support those expenditures,” Juneau said. “It’s all just coming in per pupil operating revenue.” The district will get about $6,800 next year for each student enrolled on October 1, down from $7,200.
A little more money was made available through the recent retirement of a technology teacher who won’t be replaced this year and a bid for cleaning services at Gunnison High School that came in a little lower than expected.
Most of the money that had been freed up in the second draft of the budget was locked down quickly for an increase in enrollment at the Marble Charter School, which is expecting 35 students next year, and to cover a bump in pay for a teacher expecting to get a master’s degree.
There is also $17,000 being held in case Proposition 61 passes in November and the district is forced to put a question on the ballot regarding debt.
“Proposition 61 says we can’t have any debt,” Juneau told the board. “This district has to have an interest-free loan program to make it through the year for cash flow purposes. We’re 100 percent property tax funded, so they can’t give us our state funding sooner to get us through.”
Proposition 61, if passed, would require local governments—including school districts—to get voter approval for loans and then repay that debt in 10 years. It would also prohibit the state government from borrowing any money.
Since state-accrued debt is where the money for the interest-free loan program comes from, school board president Anne Hausler said, “To me, the loss of the interest-free loan program is the scariest part of the fallout from [Proposition 61]. If it passes, I don’t think there will be any money for us to borrow.”
As a result of all the changes to the second draft, there’s a $42,000 net increase to the budgeted fund balance for 2010-2011. The public will have a chance to comment on the budget at a public meeting on June 7. To see the second draft of the budget, follow the Financial Information link under the School Board tab on the District’s website, www.gunnisonschools.net.
