Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, May 09, 2008
Autumn Grooms: Fund balance is not a blank check
The La Crosse School District may have a $33 million fund balance but that doesn’t mean administrators and the school board have a blank checkbook at their disposal.
Sure, they have repairs deemed as “urgent” and “necessary” after the April 1 building referendum failed. But those needs still don’t rise to the level of tapping the seemingly deep fund balance, said Janet Rosseter, executive director of business services.
“Fund balance should be used only for unpredicted or unplanned expenditures or an un-predicted or unplanned revenue reduction,” Rosseter said.
In the past, it’s been used to purchase properties around Franklin Elementary School and to retrofit classrooms when Jefferson Elementary School closed, she said.
Besides, fund balance doesn’t translate into available cash, Rosseter said. It includes non-cash items, such as taxes that haven’t been received and food service dollars already allocated for specific funds, she explained.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not make specific recommendations on how much a district’s fund balance should be, except to say it can’t be a negative amount. Otherwise, it is considered a local matter.
However, DPI recommends enough fund balance for working capital needs, to avoid short-term borrowing and as a “rainy day” fund.
The La Crosse School District had $33 million in June 2007 that was created when revenues exceeded expenditures for a fiscal period, Rosseter said. She estimated the district’s working capital for the 2006-07 school year at $15.5 million to pay people and bills.
“We should have an amount sufficient to adapt and react to the instability and unpredictability of state and federal funding,” Rosseter said.
Recent state budget shifts raised the possibility La Crosse schools would have to dip into the fund balance for $1 million to make up a loss in state aid, she said. In the end, that wasn’t needed, Rosseter said.
As state and federal budget uncertainties continue, maintaining a strong fund balance would allow the school district to “land softly if the rug gets pulled out from under us,” Rosseter said.
The cushion would allow school officials to react, put a reduction plan in place and use attrition to the greatest extent possible, she said.
“Once it’s spent, it’s gone,” Rosseter said. “It is challenging in revenue-limit times to be able to add to fund balance.”
Celebrating student achievement
Logan Middle School, 1450 Avon St., will host the school’s first academic pep rally at 1 p.m. today in the school’s auditorium.
“The rally is a way for us to honor students for their hard work and achievement,” said Lisa Schreiner, associate principal. “It’s also fun for the students to see that with achievement comes celebration and fun.”
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 791-8424 or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
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