The Franklin County Board of Education approved a resolution to develop a plan to establish and maintain a minimum general fund balance equal to one month’s operating expenses, which is $2.2 million.
Alabama law requires all public school systems to maintain an emergency fund balance equal to one month’s operating expenses. Many systems in Alabama are not able to bankroll that much funding. In those instances, the systems are required to present a plan pursuant to the School Fiscal Accountability Law to establish and maintain a minimum general fund balance of one month.
As of March 31, 2018, Franklin County Schools had an emergency fund balance of $403,061.35, according to chief financial officer Carla Knight.
The plan approved by the board calls for action in three categories: Personnel, transportation and a more generalized third category of ‘other.’
Some of the steps taken related to personnel designed to increase the emergency fund included not replacing a child nutrition clerk position in the central office, not replacing a special education testing certified position at the central office, postponing replacing the assistant superintendent that was vacated on January 1, 2018 until June 1, 2018, abolishing a central office certified supervisor supplement of $6,206 and decreasing local teaching units from 10.49 in fiscal year 2017 to 3.86 units in fiscal year 2018.
This number is expected to be reduced even more in the coming year as the system’s earned units increase due to student enrollment increases in fiscal year 2018.
“We gained a large number of students last year when Russellville City Schools implemented a tuition program,” Knight said. “The extra teachers required were not funded until the next year, because teaching units funded by the state are based on the previous school year.”
In the area of transportation, Franklin County school administrators hope to subtract costs by the addition of 44 new buses.
“With the combination of rebate incentives from both the bus vendor along with the propane vendor, the expected savings in maintenance and fuel costs, along with the increased Fleet Renewal Allocation, we expect these buses to pay for themselves,” Knight said.
The State of Alabama provides funding through the Fleet Renewal Allocation for all buses less than 10 years of age. Older buses are not funded.
Other areas Knight said the system will manage to maximize savings include continuing to monitor the Child Nutrition Program activity to keep food costs and meals per labor hour in line with state standards.
Additionally, officials will plan to collect 100 percent of available indirect costs from all available federal funds, utilize the flexibility option on earned units as much as possible to keep the staff as close to the Foundation earned level as possible, and to utilize federal funds allocated to the system and reduce the amount of carryover each year.
