A review by the Juneau School District has revealed it concluded its fiscal year with a $200,000 deficit within its operating funds in comparison to $1.2 million in the beginning of the previous fiscal year.
In addition to that the lower than expected enrollment in this fall has pushed the deficit to almost three million.
In the coming weeks, district officials will be looking for ways to deal with it.
Audit reveals accounting and procedure issues
This audit presented at the meeting of the Board on Tuesday found that the district administration had violated the school board and city rules by spending more than the budgeted amount without obtaining approval from the city and board first.
“You paid higher than what the school board approved and also more than CBJ had authorized, so this is where the noncompliance fell into play,” Karen Tarver, the auditing firm’s partner Elgee Rehfeld, said at the school board’s meeting.
Cassee Olin Cassee Olin, the district’s administrative service director, told the media that the district had to deal with unexpected costs at the close of the fiscal year, including those that were related to the agreement with the teachers union. with the union of teachers.. Olin said that the district is currently giving the school board monthly financial reports.
The audit also identified problems with the implementation of different accounting guidelines, maintaining of student records, and Medicaid billing. Olin explained that administrative staff are informing staff about the new standards, and are looking into how the school should invoice for Medicaid services.
Lower enrollment makes deficit grow
In the meantime, student enrollment within the district continues to decrease and causes the deficit in operating funds to increase even more.
The district estimated it would have the number of students who would be attending Juneau schools this year.. After the schools had tallied how many students were who attended in October, the average daily amount of students that the district reported for state approval was 4,114.
The state funds for the school district are determined by enrollment. A gap of 126 students equals 1 million in revenue projections.
This could be reduced slightly when state education officials adjust their plans according to factors like school size and the amount of students who have special requirements. Director Frank Hauser said the school size factor, which grants higher state funds for smaller schools, could help the district in the final calculation of funding.
*span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”When we look at the final numbers, we could see some adjustments to the calculation of the school size factor for a few of our schools due to the fact that there are a smaller enrollment number,” he told the school board.
This district is expected to receive this updated number in the month of December from the state.
The board will tackle the year’s deficit
Between the cost at the close of the year and the declining student numbers, the school district is facing an almost $3 million deficit in its operating budget.
This fund for operating expenses, that is comprised of the city and state funds is used to pay for salaries and other benefits. Additionally, the district has a separate revenue fund that is only available for certain items; a capital project fund that pays for maintenance and repairs to buildings as well as a fund that is permanent.
The school district is unable to transfer funds from its capital project or special revenue funds into its operating fund. In fact, the city has provided the school district with funds up to “the limit,” a limit to local funds that is set by state law.
District leaders must find alternative ways to deal with the problem of insufficient funds.
In the spring of this year this year, Juneau School District was hit with a funding gap. Juneau School District was faced facing a gap in funding of $758,000 after Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed half of the education funding that was approved one-time from the Alaska Legislature. The Legislature responded by removing two teaching positions and securing four teachers with assistance from pandemic illnesses instead of operating funds.
School board members will begin to look at possible budget revisions for the current fiscal year in their next board meeting on December. 12.
The work on the budget for next year will begin soon, too. Chairperson of the Board Deedie Sorensen told the media that schools across the state face budgetary challenges as they prepare for the next fiscal year. Sorensen and the other board members were at the Association of Alaska School Boards meeting last week.
“I do not think I met anyone in any district that doesn’t have a real problem with an 8 ball,” Sorensen told the board.
In Anchorage district, school officials may be forced to expand the size of classes or eliminate specific programs to account the $95 million deficit. In the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is expected to begin the next fiscal year with the amount of $13 million in deficit.
