REPORT SAYS SCHOOL FUNDS MUCH BETTER; MORE REVENUE, LESS SPENDING A 'BLESSING,' SAYS SUPERINTENDENT

Increased revenue and decreased expenditures will bring about a strong turnaround in the Cape Girardeau School District's budget this fiscal year.

Board members learned of the district's improved financial standing during a Cape Girardeau Board of Education meeting Monday night. In a year-end report, business manager Dr. Steve Del Vecchio said the district will show a positive spending pattern in nearly every spending category when the fiscal year ends today.

The board originally had anticipated it would deficit spend in many of its accounts. It had frozen all spending during the next fiscal year to offset an anticipated $1 million deficit. Numerous measures, including a retirement incentive, have been adopted to reduce spending by some $600,000 next year.

Del Vecchio said the turnaround in spending occurred largely in the school district's general fund, which is the account that covers most of its operating expenses. A combination of more revenue and fewer expenses will mean the general fund balance at the end of today will be an estimated $1,232,718 after all bills are paid for the fiscal year. The original ending fund balance was expected to be closer to $428,315.

Increased state and local receipts of $697,996 coupled with $106,407 fewer operating expenses than scheduled made the difference in the district's fiscal outlook, he said.

"Overall we had a much better year than we anticipated," Del Vecchio said. "We had about a 3 percent increase in revenue, and we also underspent our budget by quite a bit. The combination of the two is where that variance came from."

Although the school board will still end the year having deficit spent some $238,667, school officials said they are pleased with the larger-than-expected fund balances. They said they are especially pleased with the fact that the revised balances were the result of a team effort that included participation in student activities, local and state taxes, and adjusted program funding from the state.

"It's definitely a blessing in that it's given us an opportunity to get back on our feet," said superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent. "We will still want to be conservative when planning our budget, but it's a real credit to everyone -- administrators, building principals, teachers and others -- that we were able to hold the line on the budget."

Board president Dr. Ferrell Ervin said board members will review the information before making any decisions in the future. The 1997-98 budget has been adopted as the preliminary budget for the next school year, but the improved financial outlook will mean some additional breathing room when reviewing expenditures, he said.

"Clearly I think that means that we will have greater latitude in the budget, and I'm sure there'll be some discussion to look at that money, but we want to make sure we wait until the dust has settled," he said.

General fund

Budget estimates

Beginning balance July 1, 1997 $1,471,385

Anticipated balance June 30, 1998 $ 428,315

Revised estimates

Balance June 30, 1998 $1,232,718

Balance difference $ 804,403