Oconee County Schools received $4.5 million more in revenue over the just-completed Fiscal Year 2024 than it had anticipated when the Board of Education adopted that budget in May of 2023.
The largest part of that increase resulted from $2.4 million in Investment and Interest Income. The budget approved by the Board in May of 2023 had listed only $50,000 in expected income in that category.
Oconee County Schools also received $600,000 more in ad valorem taxes than budgeted, $600,000 more in Vehicle Title Tax, and $900,000 more in grants from the Georgia Department of Education.
These numbers come from the Amended Fiscal Year 2024 Budget approved by the Board at its meeting at the beginning of the month, and the rounded numbers obviously are not precise figures.
The investment income is the exception, with $2,437,119 listed in the approved document.
Oconee County Schools Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams has not yet presented to the Board the end of the fiscal year 2024 Budget Report, which should provide exact figures for income and spending. That budget ended on June 30.
Last year, Adams’ predecessor didn’t release that end-of-year report until the Sept. 18 meeting of the Board.
The amended budget approved by the Board earlier this month also listed new spending, with $5 million shown to pay for construction costs not covered by the Education Local Option Sales Tax.
Even with that new spending, however, the revised budget showed a surplus of income over expenses of more than $700,000, money available as the new fiscal year got underway on July 1.
Amended Budget
Adams introduced the General Fund Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Amendment as the fourth of eight items in his Business Services Report at the July 1 regular meeting of the Board of Education, the first in the newly opened Instructional Support Center.
 |
| Screen Shot: Adams Addresses Board 7/1/2024 |
Adams told the Board that “the Fiscal Year 24 General Revenue will grow $4.4 million ($4,462,827) more than anticipated due to local revenues, interest income, and a one-time salary supplement pass through from the state,” he said.
“Additionally we were able to operate within our budget for expenditures as well as utilizing additional funds to continue direct district wide projects such as paving, renovations, and generators,” Adams said.
No member of the Board asked Adams any questions about the General Fund Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Amendment, about a parallel budget amendment for the Federal Funds Fiscal Year 2024 Budget, or about any of the other six items in the Budget Services Report.
The Federal Funds Budget Amendment showed an increase of $53,875 in both revenue and spending, resulting in an overall balanced budget of $7.4 million ($7,377,481).
“Grant budgets have been updated and amended to reflect our grant allocations and corresponding budgets that have been approved by the state,” Adams told the Board as he presented the Federal Funds Budget Amendment.
Details Of Amendments
The budget amendment approved by the Board lists the $600,000 in ad valorem taxes above the budgeted $47,027,909, and $600,000 in vehicle title tax income above the $2,000,000 budgeted.
The May Year-To-Date Budget Report Adams presented to the Board in June--the last one he has given to the Board--showed receipt of $264,646 less than budgeted in ad valorem taxes, but an increase of $978,940 in vehicle title tax.
The amended budget did not change the expected $700,000 in transfer taxes, but the May Year-To-Date Budget Report showed a deficit of $60,073 in that category.
The May Year-To-Date Budget Report showed investment and interest income of $2,410,356, or just $26,763 less than what was approved in the amended budget ($2,437,119).
The amended budget the Board approved shows $482,100 in other local revenues, but the May Year-To-Date Budget Report shows that figure already at $559,697.
In addition, the May Year-To-Date Budget Reports lists an additional $100,011 in revenue from “forest land protection tax,” “other taxes”, “tuition from individuals,” contribution private source,” and “services provided others.” These are not shown in the Amended Budget.
In sum, the amended local budget added $3.6 million ($3,637,110) in local revenue, and the May Year-To-Date Budget Report shows receipts at that point of $3.3 million ($3,250,926).
In July of 2023, the Board amended the Fiscal Year 2023 General Fund Budget to increase revenue by $7.6 million and spending by $5.8 million. Board amended the Federal Funds budget to add $2.6 million in funding and $2.5 million in spending.
State Funding Changes
The Amended Budget approved by the Board showed a loss of $74,331 in QBE Formula Earnings for Salary, a loss of $7,219 in QBE Formula Earnings for Operations, a loss of $1,058 in state categorical grants, and a decrease of $8,316 in the budgeted amount the system surrenders as part of its mandated local contribution to QBE funding.
The budget shows an increase of $900,000 in “Other Grants” from the Georgia Department of Education.
In total, the amended budget showed an increase in state funding of $825,708.
The total revenue gain in the Amended Budget, with the increase in local and state revenue, is $4,462,827.
Spending In Amended Budget
The amended budget shows Oconee County Schools spending exactly $2 million less for what is labeled Direct Instruction than what was budgeted when the Board approved the Fiscal Year 2024 in May of 2023.
 |
| Amended General Fund Budget 7/1/2024 (Click To Enlarge) |
The amended budget, on the other hand, shows an increase of $750,000 in maintenance and plant operation and an increase of $200,000 in student transportation services.
The big change, however, is in what is labeled Facilities Acquisition and Construction Services.
No money was set side in the approved Fiscal Year 2024 Budget for this category of spending.
The Amended Budget Approved by the Board on July shows an exact $5 million in spending in this category.
Oconee County Schools has not acquired any facilities, so the money is for construction.
Oconee County Schools does not release an annual construction budget that shows total spending in a given year on its construction projects.
The $5 million in construction spending in the General Fund Budget, however, is on top of spending of the Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) revenue.
Overall, the amended budget shows increased spending of $3.9 million ($3,875,000).
Other Finance Reports
Adams told the Board, in his ELOST VI Report on July 1, that spending is now complete for he Colham Ferry Element School addition, at $3.59 million, and for the High Shoals Elementary School addition, at $3.06 million.
Spending on the Dove Creek Middle School is not complete, but $40.67 million has been spent against the budgeted $39.58 million.
Spending continues for the Malcom Bridge Elementary School addition (budgeted at $4.50 million, the New Instructional Support Center (budgeted at $14.54 million), and systemwide technology (budgeted at $6.00 million).
As of the end of June, Oconee County Schools had spent $67.96 million on construction as part of the projects it presented to voters prior to the ELOST vote.
ELOST collections are in the second year of a five-year authorization, with $17.03 million in revenue.
Adams reported that the June collection was $1.07 million, up 8.5 percent from that same month a year ago.
Over the last 14 months, revenue is up 8.0 percent on average from the same month a year earlier.
Adams also reported that the General Fund Balance on June 30, the end of the 2024 Fiscal Year, was $54.39 million, down from $58.15 million in May of this year, but up from $48.38 million in June of 2023.
Other Reports
In the meeting on Aug. 1, Justin Cofer, Chief Human Resources Officer, told the Board that Oconee County Schools has hired 62 new certified employees, including 49 teachers, and 49 classified employees, including 30 paraprofessionals, for the beginning of School on Aug. 7.
 |
| Ricketson Address Board 7/1/2024 |
“We have teachers ranging from their first year in education to over 20 years of experience,” he said.”Seventy percent of those hold an advanced degree in the field of education,” he added.
Ryan White, Chief Operations Officer, recommended, and the Board ultimately approved, the purchase a combination oven from Manning Brothers of Athens, the sole bidder, for $45,013 for Colham Ferry Elementary School.
The purchase will be paid for by an equipment grant awarded by the Georgia Department of Education and School Nutrition Funds, White reported.
Fred Ricketson, Director of Facilities, reported that the move into the new Instructional Support Center was completed over the weekend of June 14 and “Kevin Price Construction continues to work to complete punch list items and get everything ship shape for us in the future.”
Ricketson said the Rocky Branch Elementary School renovation and modification is underway and “we continue to make good progress towards finishing on time to welcome teachers back near the end of this month.”
Generators are on order for many of the schools, he said, “but lead times continue to be long for certain items.”
“Generators is one of those items,” Ricketson said. “The generators are on order. We're expecting them to begin arriving early next spring.”
Video
The video below is on the Oconee County Schools YouTube Channel.
The screen shots of Adams and Ricketson above are taken from that video.
Adams began the business services report at 26:00 in the video.
No comments:
Post a Comment