The Oakdale Joint Unified School District will be able to meet its current financial obligations for this fiscal year and will be solvent for the next two subsequent years if the state makes no changes, according to a report made by interim chief business officer Susan Dyke at the March 14 regular meeting of the district’s Board of Trustees.
The board approved and gave positive certification of the Second Interim Report delivered by Dyke. Also in her report, she indicated if budget reductions are made at the state level, then the district will take action to meet financial obligations.
Dyke said that the revenues for the second interim are at approximately $41.46 million, an increase from the first interim of $844,648. Approximately $600,000 of that increase is “one time” dollars, with the rest being ongoing income. Second interim expenditures are at $46.36 million, an increase from the first interim of $385,424. About $135,000 of that are ongoing costs, while about $248,000 is for ongoing expenses, mostly in the form of retiree healthcare.
Dyke reported that under the governor’s current proposed budget, funding will be “flat” and if taxes are extended, the district will lose $25 per ADA (Average Daily Attendance). However, if taxes are not extended, then the drop to ADA will be $330 plus the $25. She stated that the district should be funded statutorily at $1,400 more per pupil (ADA). Dyke also said that the district is assuming that the taxes will not be extended so as to prepare for the worst scenario.
The district’s ADA projections are being based on this year, which is slightly lower than last year by about 15 students. Superintendent Fred Rich noted at the meeting that OJUSD has not experienced the significant downturns in enrollment that other area districts have faced. Dyke said that actual current ADA funding (2010-2011) is $5,539, but statutorily should be at $6,752.
She also reported that the district is maintaining a five percent reserve for economic uncertainty, but that the actual percentage in reserves at this time is in the double digits in order to cover salaries. She said that until the district sees stabilization from Sacramento, it’ll need to keep large cash reserves to weather the storm.
In other business, the board approved a 2.5 percent salary decrease for certificated and classified management and confidential employees to match what the Oakdale Teachers Association bargaining unit agreed to in negotiations. This will go into effect July 1 and will result in a savings on the management and confidential salary schedule of $85,326 for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
“I think this is a great compromise by the whole team,” said trustee Rick W. Jones, adding that he appreciated the cooperation.
In consent items, the board also approved the 2011 Summer School calendar and noted that they were glad that the district could offer summer school this year, after a hiatus last year due to lack of funding. The main portion of summer school students will be those who need “credit recovery” in order to stay on track for graduation. Summer school will be about two-thirds the size of the previous year that it was offered.
In closed session, the board reviewed approval of the Superintendent search interview questions, though no action was reported. Also of note, the application period for the Superintendent position closed on Monday, March 14.
The next regular meeting of the OJUSD Board of Trustees will be at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 11 at Oakdale City Council Chambers, 277 N. Second.
