Marshall Cruz, the district’s business/operations lead, told the Granite Falls School Board on June 25 that the district is on track to meet its 5% fund-balance goal and may finish the fiscal year with slightly higher reserves.

Cruz said the district was “conditionally awarded” a little over $2 million: he cited $1,610,000 for high-needs and $383,000 for community-impact funding and said the total may increase slightly when the district resubmits in August. “It will not go down. It should only go and incrementally up,” he said.

He told the board two payrolls remained in the fiscal year and that cash-flow timing affects June results; Cruz said the district lent the state “a couple $100,000” in June and expects repayment in July, which typically improves July and August apportionment months. Cruz said the district expects to end the year at or just above a 5% fund balance target and that this would mark the first time the district held a multi-million-dollar fund balance.

Cruz also described a change to special-education funding rules that allows the district to claim high-cost safety-net reimbursements quarterly rather than receiving a large payment once a year. He said that change will smooth revenue and ease cash-flow challenges in future fiscal years.

Board members had no substantive questions after Cruz’s report; the district plans a budget hearing at the July 23 meeting, and staff proposed a study session the week prior to review budget details.