Saline School District Plans to Use Surplus to Bolster Fund Balance

The Saline Area Schools district expects to break even for the 2020-21 school year, when not factoring for one-time COVID-19 money coming from the federal government.

That's what budget committee chair Dennis Valenti told fellow trustees of the Saline Board of Education.

"It is looking like we will probably be able to break even excluding our one-time COVID  revenue dollars. The good news is that we're much better than we've had in many years past, but we should be right around break-even, excluding the one-time items we get from COVID revenue," Valenti told the board.

Valenti said the district would use the excess dollars to bolster the fund balance.

"We hope to be able to bolster our fund balance to a level that all of  our auditors and the state of Michigan have told us they want to see," Valenti said.

Valenti said the district was heading into a time of uncertainty. 

The board is expected to approve its final amended budget for the year at the next meeting. The district will also be expected to pass its budget for next year at the next meeting. A public hearing is set for 6 p.m., June 22.

"That's going to be a tougher one but we hope to get it closer to break-even but we have some work to do there," Valenti said.

Valenti said the district's fund balance is low enough that it will once again have to borrow money to make payroll and conduct business over the summer months.

In the November budget amendment, the district saw revenues increase by $2.15 million and expenditures dip by $235,000. The district cautiously began the fiscal year by budgeting to spend $63.8 million against $62.6 million in revenue.

The district received $1.9 million in federal COVID-19 relief.

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