School district ends year $3.6 million ahead
The Siloam Springs School District ended its fiscal year with $3.6 million more than originally budgeted and twice as much in its ending balance as expected.
Terry Raskiewicz, chief financial officer for the district, reported the budget surplus during the July 15 school board meeting.
Originally the school district budgeted for $36.13 million in revenue and $39.07 million in expenses for an ending balance of $4.16 million. However, the district actually received $37.5 million in revenue and spent $36.33 million for an ending balance of $8.27 million.
“I’d like to give everyone in this room a hand,” she said. “I just get the joy of reporting it. They do all the hard work for that.”
Raskiewicz said the district received $1.2 million in unanticipated funds. The biggest increase in revenue came from an additional $625,000 in property tax, she said.
“That just means we are growing and people are paying their taxes on time,” she said.
In addition, the district received $386,000 in supplemental property tax funds from the state, Raskiewicz said. The state guarantees that school districts receive 98 percent of their property tax dollars, she explained. Because the district did not receive 98 percent of its funds in the January through December calendar year, the state sent the additional payment. However the school did receive 98 percent of the funds during its fiscal year, which spans from July until June, she said.
The district also received $198,000 in growth funds, $16,000 from a surplus auction, and $40,000 from the refinance of a bond, Raskiewicz said.
Raskiewicz thanked school administrators and employees for spending $2 million less than budgeted.
“I have to thank this group of people and everybody else in the district for watching budgets and managing their dollars, and pinching pennies and making deals and all of that because we had over $2 million left over in our budget that they did not spend,” Raskiewicz said.
After hearing the report, board members approved the June financial statements.
In other business, the school board took the following actions:
• Approved a memorandum of understanding between the district and the Siloam Springs Police Department for school resource officers.
• Approved school board policy changes recommended by the Arkansas School Board Association.
• Approved the resignation of nine licensed staff members, including high school principal Anne Martfeld.
• Approved the hire of 10 new licensed staff members, including new high school principal Robert Lindley.