Schools' Updated Five-Year Forecast Presented Wednesday

When ' Treasurer Martin Aho presents the updated five-year forecast on Wednedsay, it will have its ups and downs.

School Board President Ron Stuver said the new numbers present some "good and bad news."

“The good news is that the year will finish better than we had forecasted," Stuver said. "The bad news is we’re still in deficit-spending mode and it’s larger than it was last year.”

Aho originally forecasted last October that the district would be short $5 million when its fiscal year ends July 31.

The updated report now shows the deficit at $3.2 million. One year ago it was $2.3 million.

The reason the updated forecast is slightly better, Stuver said, is because of changes the district made, such as health care and utility savings and cuts to overtime.

This new forecast doesn't include many of the recent because many of them haven't taken effect yet.

How those changes affect the budget will be much clearer when it is presented again in October.