School Officials Lobby for Better Funding Schedule

Superintendent Scot Graden and Board of Education Trustee Dave Holden met with State Rep. Mark Ouimet to discuss a state aid funding schedule that causes the district to borrow money to meet payroll as often as twice a year.

In February, the board voted to pass a resolution to borrow $1.9 million from the state to make payroll and pay bills.

Finance Director Janice Warner told the board in February that there are generally two times a year that the district borrows money.

“The timing of the state aid revenue coming in doesn’t match the money going out,” Warner said, noting that the district used this program even when it had a healthier fund balance.

The district plans to pay back the bridge loan after the state makes its scheduled aid payment in August.

Holden said he and Graden met with Ouimet to talk about ways to align the state’s aid payments with the district’s budgets.

“This is something that doesn’t make a lot of sense. They pledge the money to us, but then we get a cash shortfall. This is something that affects a lot of districts in the state. So there’s millions of dollars in interest payments that can be saved here, not to mention all of the paperwork and administrative costs that come with applying for these loans,” Holden said. “(Ouimet) listened very intently to us and he’ll take that back to Lansing. He pledged to get back to us after his go-around in Lansing.”