CAPE SCHOOLS' END-OF-YEAR FINANCES RISE; DEFICIT SPENDING PATTERN ENDS

End-of-the-year financial reports indicate fund balances for the Cape Girardeau School District are on the rise.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska and business manager Dr. Steve Del Vecchio presented the reports at a Board of Education meeting Monday.

The general fund had a balance of $2,622,912 when the fiscal year ended June 30. That is $1,377,966 more than the district had at the beginning of the last fiscal year.

The larger balance means the district ends a three-year pattern of deficit spending in its operating budget. It also means the district's fund balances are above Missouri's recommended balances for the first time in two years.

The state recommends that school districts save an operating fund balance equal to 10 percent of what it spent during a fiscal year. The school district missed that mark in fiscal years 1997 and 1998 when it had balances of 7.3 and 9.4 percent, respectively.

However, the district ended fiscal year 1999 with balances that were 12 percent of total expenditures. School officials said that shows a new trend in financial planning.

"We've tightened the belt and done only necessary expenditures, and it's starting to show," Del Vecchio said. "I think we've finally made it around the bend."

Some increases were expected in the district's general fund, which is used to pay most of the bills. However, a combination of increased revenues and decreased expenditures resulted in increases of about 2 1/2 percent more than was anticipated.

Last year the district ended the year with about 3 percent more revenue than was anticipated. Most of the money was received in final state program payments last June after the school board had approved $611,000 in budget reductions to reduce the effects of deficit spending.

Steska said the increases were in line with normal variances for a school district.

"Some variance is to be expected in any fund," he said. "When it comes down to it, 2 1/2 percent is still a lot of dollars, but when speaking of a $23 million budget it's not as much comparatively."

Del Vecchio said cutbacks approved by the school board were tough decisions to make but financially sound. The decisions resulted in reduced expenditures of $612,153, about $1,153 more than the budgeted amount.

"You can look at this and see the reductions worked," said Del Vecchio.

The reductions included a freeze on all spending including salaries. Budgets for district travel and maintenance and repair also were reduced.

Savings also came from a reduction of staff through an early retirement incentive and elimination of matching incentive grants, staff cafeteria plan fees and textbook purchases for the year.

Besides a decrease in total expenditures, the district also had better than anticipated revenues for the year.

Increased funding from state sales-tax revenue and vocational aid and tuition from vocational school programs amounted for the bulk of the revenue. Other state funding for gifted programs, exceptional pupil aid and at-risk funding also exceeded district estimates.

"It really wasn't like we got this windfall," said Steska. "It was a combination of less expenses and greater revenue."

Del Vecchio said the district's improved fund balances indicated better financial planning by school officials. But he said there is still room for improvement.

"We can make improvement in anything, and I'll be the first to admit we can do a better job of getting these numbers to match," said Del Vecchio. "We're working on that."