Dublin school district asks state for advance funding

The Dublin City Board of Education is asking the state for advances of its monthly funding allotments from November through January as it waits for tax collections to begin at year’s end.

“School funding doesn’t just arrive in equal monthly payments. Taxes don’t start rolling in until spring,” Chief Financial Officer Teresa Lounder told the board at its meeting Monday.

Districts rely on local property taxes and state Quality Basic Education Act (QBE) funding for almost all of their operating revenue. While state funding is paid out monthly, school systems lacking a cash surplus in their general fund typically rely on tax anticipation notes, or TANs, to make up the difference until property taxes come due, usually by mid-December

However, Dublin City cannot qualify for a TAN because banks require school systems to be current on their annual audits, and the district remains several years behind. So, as it did to survive the last school year, the district is asking the state for help.

Financial documents presented at Monday’s board meeting show plans to ask for advances of $1.2 million in QBE (Quality Basic Education Act) funding in November and $1.35 million in December and again in January. District officials have not requested additional funding this month but have asked that its October allotment of $1.35 million be sent early to meet payroll and other obligations.

Advanced funding was a topic of conversation when interim Superintendent Marcee Pool and board chairman David Westerfield met recently with state Rep. Matt Hatchett, Pool told the board.

“We gave him an overview of all the things we are doing here at Dublin City Schools, all the progress that we’re making. We really appreciate his partnership,” Pool said. “We have reached out to the state for some advances in our community finding. He spoke with us about that, and we are super excited to have him partnering with us.”

A monthly financial report approved by the board showed the district ended September with a $2.8 million deficit. However, it also shows the district is spending less than it was a year ago.

The report shows expenditures of $2.36 million for the month, almost $1.3 million less than last September.

The district began the current fiscal year in October with a $3.8 million deficit, a substantially smaller shortfall than the $13.4 million projected by state officials. That estimate, however, included $5.6 million in unpaid contributions owed to the State Health Benefit Plan in the district’s general fund. Now, with a repayment plan in place, that debt is listed as a liability for accounting purposes.

September’s financial report shows the district still owes about $4.4 million to the state plan.

In other business, the school board:

• Approved two $350,000 grants for the 21st Century Community Learning Center afterschool programs at Dublin Middle and High schools. The grants do not require local matching funds.

• Voted to increase procurement thresholds for the nutrition department.

• Tabled the purchase of nine heating-and-air conditioning units for Susie Dasher Elementary and Hillcrest Elementary schools until bids are updated to include service agreements.