Oxford Schools ended the 2014-15 fiscal year with a $362,000 deficit, but had $5.4 million remaining in the district’s fund balance.
Fiscal Services Consultant Mike Dixon wrote in a memo to the board that he believes when the audit is finalized, ‘if there is a deficit, it will be much lower than budgeted.?
‘The district has sufficient fund balance to absorb the projected deficit, which is projected to be less that 0.7 of 1 percent,? he said.
When asked about the $362,000 deficit, Superintendent Tim Throne said he was ‘concerned, but not alarmed.?
‘If we would have presented (figures) that showed a million-dollar deficit, yeah, I would be much more anxious and alarmed today,? he said. ‘But when you’re talking about a fraction of a percent, relatively that’s a small number.?
What caused $362,000 deficit?
According to the budget, the estimated expenditures that caused the deficit included $38,500 in changes to health insurance, $93,500 changes in contract negotiations with employees, $55,000 changes in temporary staff, $70,000 changes in Oxford Virtual Academy (OVA) and $105,000 class size overages/sick day payout.
‘We know we went over budget in these areas,? Throne said. ‘What we just can’t account for is all the areas that we didn’t spend over what was budgeted because we don’t have all the expenses and receipts in yet.?
As for the changes in healthcare, Throne said it was probably due to ‘adding more people with benefits than people that went away.?
For the temporary staff, Throne said the district incurred some extra expenses when they hired Dixon to replace Former Chief Operations Officer Pam Anstey and hired Connie Haugan to replace former Controller Fred Shuback, when he retired in May.
‘We never budgeted for those contracted employees,? he noted.
The overage in OVA, Throne explained came because they had extra students enrolled. ‘The revenue for those students was budgeted, but the expenses for those students were never allocated into the budget,? he said.
Positive outlook
Like Dixon, Throne is confident that when the audit takes place and every penny is accounted for, the district will be just fine.
‘I think there is a 50/50 chance and might be even better than a 50/50 chance that not only does that $362,000 deficit go away, but we actually put money into (the) fund balance,? he said. ‘I just can’t tell you that for sure today.?
‘Personally, I don’t like to budget so close, but I also understand that we have a lot of additional expenses that weren’t planned for and couldn’t be planned for,? Throne added. ‘That’s why you have a fund balance.?
See next week’s edition for the projected 2015-2016 fiscal year budget.