Hollister
– The Hollister School District transferred more than $400,000
from its building fund to the general fund to cover a budgetary
deficit more than $1 million and keep the state off its back for
operating with an unbalanced budget, according to the board
president.
Hollister – The Hollister School District transferred more than $400,000 from its building fund to the general fund to cover a budgetary deficit more than $1 million and keep the state off its back for operating with an unbalanced budget, according to the board president.
The board approved the transfer at its Tuesday night meeting after already transferring more than $600,000 from the same fund to balance its budget, said Board President Margie Barrios.
Board members chose to take the money from the building fund because there are no plans to build a new school or any other structures this year, Barrios said. There are several other funds, including a reserve fund which the board is prohibited from dipping into, and a maintenance fund that is used for repairs which wouldn’t be prudent to extract money from, she said.
Although board members knew there was a budget deficit from the 2004-05 school year, they didn’t know the exact amount until the second interim budget report hit their desks Tuesday night, she said.
“It’s like a moving target,” she said. “We don’t know the exact amount until the year is over.”
They made a decision a couple months ago to transfer the funds, but couldn’t officially approve an exact dollar amount until the board received the report, she said.
If the board hadn’t transferred the money from the building fund, which it is not required to pay back, it would have been violating state law, Barrios said.
“We have to be able to prove to our county that we have enough money in our reserve to carry us,” she said. “By law we have to be able to balance our budget and that’s how we chose to do it. Especially in this situation, if it’s done through board approval it’s absolutely OK to do that.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
