R-I officials: Cash reserves may be used if needs require it

The Poplar Bluff R-I School District is heading into the 2020-21 fiscal year with a balanced budget, but expects changes.

The school board approved a budget Thursday night that matched numbers presented at last week’s workshop.

It accounts for a projected nearly $57.2 million in revenue and an end balance of $610,894 after expenses.

However, Dr. Scott Dill, superintendent, said he expects withholdings of state funds, which could cause deficit spending for the year,

The state withheld several funding payments in the current budget, which Dr. Amy Jackson, assistant superintendent of business and finance, said resulted in a loss of a little over $1 million. The current budget year ends June 30.

It has received about $1.2 million in CARES Act funding from the federal government, which will not need to be returned.

“Right now that is kind of plugging a hole in the budget,” Dill said. “Those moneys were specifically designed to help the district address COVID-19 related issues. We have earmarked a lot of that for distance learning and some of other acquisitions ... That money really needs to be allocated somewhere and because it’s federal it needs to move in and out quickly.”

The current year’s budget is still tracking “to the good,” Jackson said, by about $1.5 million, but the largest payroll of the year has not come out yet.

To have a balanced budget next year, the district has opted to not fill 10 positions at the moment. These positions are not in the budget, but also have not been eliminated. They opened up and were not filled.

“I’m a proponent of adding those positions back sooner rather than later,” Board Member Jerrod Murphy said. “That’s why we have reserves. I don’t think dipping into reserves is a big deal when there’s a need. We have good, strong reserves ... If we have needed positions, teachers, that affects students and outcomes, I feel very strongly that we should fill those types of positions if they’re going to impact education.”

Scott and Jackson agreed with Murphy that if class sizes are higher than expected, they will come to the board asking to fill the needed positions.

“We will not hesitate to ask the board to do what’s best for our kids,” Dill said. “We have asked our principals and our teachers to make some cuts for right now, but I would agree with you, sir, as soon as we possibly can add those positions back, I have a long list of IOUs for the principals they won’t let me forget.”

The budget includes four maintenance projects Jackson said are “absolute needs” and account for $370,000 of the budget. Jackson said she is still looking into whether some of that, to make repairs to the Kay Porter dryvit, can come out of that specific fund.

The board approved a salary adjustment for classified employees and bus drivers in April. These adjustments added about $910,000 to the budget, Jackson said at the time.

Last week, Jackson described the budget as “conservative” in an attempt to avoid going into the red or too much into the red if the state does issue withholdings.

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PB Schools budget

By the numbers:

(Figures approximate)

Total Revenues — $57.2 million

Total Expenses — $56.6 million

Revenues

Local — $18.4 million

State — $20.6 million

Federal — $1.9 million

Transportation — $339,000

Capital — $4.3 million

Expenditures

Salary and Benefits — $40.4 million

Maintenance Projects — $370,000

Digital Transformation — $110,000

Curriculum — $132,000

Food Service Program — $3.2 million