Flossmoor School District 161 officials plan to transfer millions of dollars between district funds to cover upcoming construction expenses and ensure the transportation fund maintains sufficient cash flow as Cook County property tax revenues continue to lag.
During a June 15 board discussion, Associate Superintendent of Business Operations Frances LaBella said the district is seeking to transfer $2 million from the Education Fund to the Transportation Fund and additional money from the Education Fund to the Capital Projects Fund to support summer construction projects.
LaBella said the transfer is being proposed earlier than originally anticipated because the district expects to receive a construction bill before the end of June.
“We are going to need money by the end of this month to pay a Pepper Construction bill that’s going to be just a little short of what’s still left in capital projects,” LaBella told the board.
She also cited uncertainty surrounding Cook County property tax collections.
“With Cook County taxes being a little rocky right now, the transportation fund might make it to the end of the year and not go into the negative, but honestly, I don’t want to take the chance of getting to the end of June and having to call a special board meeting because we went negative,” LaBella said.
According to board documents, district officials are proposing a transfer of $2 million from the Education Fund to the Transportation Fund and $10 million from the Education Fund to the Capital Projects Fund. The report states the transfers are needed because tax revenues have been delayed and summer construction expenses are beginning to come due.
Board members asked whether the transfer was necessary to support projects already approved by the district.
LaBella said the district had always planned to pay for its long-range facility improvements through a combination of bond proceeds and cash reserves.
“From the very beginning, we had said we were going to use bond proceeds, and we were going to use cash reserves,” she said. “This is the cash reserve piece that we’re starting to move into the Capital Projects Fund to fund the balance of your long-range projects.”
Following the meeting, LaBella compared the transfer to moving money between savings accounts.
“Think about it from you have five different savings accounts,” she said. “You’re moving one from one into the other. Nothing has changed from a global perspective, but I’m required to do accounting by fund.”
District officials said the transfer would not affect the district’s overall fund balance but would move money into the accounts where it is needed for transportation and construction expenses.
The proposed transfers will require a public hearing, which is scheduled for the board’s June 29 meeting. The board is expected to vote on the transfers following the hearing.
