Crane board OKs petition for funding advance

Crane Elementary School District’s governing board voted unanimously Tuesday night during their monthly meeting to petition Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, the state treasurer and the director of the department of administration to give an advance payment of their state aid.

The district is seeking the more than $3,600,000 to cover a gap in funding caused by Arizona House Bill 2187, which creates a delay in funding for the district.

Dale Ponder, the district’s chief of finance and operations, said during the meeting that this house bill creates “some burdens on school districts.” He also said that it would create a cash deficit for Crane.

“This is addressing cash, not budget,” said Ponder, of the resolution that was voted on. “School districts are allowed to allocate funds based on a formula, and that is our budget. So the cash that is tied to that budget is what we are wanting to look at.

“We’re not increasing our budget capacity, we’re not changing our budget capacity in any way, it’s just the timing that we receive the cash to address our budget.”

According to Ponder, Crane also currently has a line of credit with the county, which they are paying interest on.

“This is standard practice throughout the state, it’s just something that our district has not utilized, that’s my understanding,” said board member Sarah Claridge, to which she received confirmation from Ponder.

“And we’re just going to finally take advantage of this to try to offset interest that we have been paying,” she said. “Just want to make sure that’s clear.”

In addition to this resolution, the district governing board voted to accept over $2,000 in donations.