“State law does not dictate how much cash a district can accumulate in a fund balance, as long as the amount doesn’t exceed the annual budget.“
It’s one thing to have a “rainy day fund”. But $215 million?
Idaho school districts and charter schools are stockpiling millions of taxpayer dollars.
Some $215 million in unspent funds now reside in fund balance, or savings, accounts in districts and charter schools across the state.
To put the amount of reserves into perspective, the 2016-17 general fund budget for K-12 is close to $1.6 billion.
Superintendents say the unused money safeguards against budget cuts and unforeseen costs, including structural repairs and maintenance not covered by insurance.
“Our fund balance goes to good use in our district,” said Salmon River superintendent Jim Doramus.
Last year, Salmon River used roughly $20,000 of its $1.4 million fund balance to install a new heating system in a high school gym, paint old buildings and upgrade other heating and cooling systems. Doramus and other school leaders say fund balances also helped weather the economic downturn from 2008 to 2013.
However, some question the prudence of holding on to so much cash when 94 of Idaho’s 115 districts collected supplemental property tax levies in 2015-16. Plus, the state has restored funding to pre-recession levels by adding over $200 million to the education budget since 2015, with 7.4 percent increases each of the past two years.
“It’s a crime against taxpayers,” said Wayne Hoffman, executive director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a Boise-based conservative watchdog group. “I think the school districts are truly taking advantage of a sympathetic electorate here.”
District fund balances grew by roughly 50 percent from 2008 to 2011, topping $231 million at the height of the recession in 2011. Following a steady decline from 2012 to 2014, they again eclipsed $200 million last year.
State law allows districts to set aside annual contingency funds, reflecting up to 5 percent of annual budgets. Unused contingency dollars are counted as income at the end of the year and can be moved into separate fund balance accounts.
State law does not dictate how much cash a district can accumulate in a fund balance, as long as the amount doesn’t exceed the annual budget.“It’s ultimately up to local leaders and boards of trustees to determine what’s best at the local level, as long as they are operating within the law,” said State Department of Education spokesman Jeff Church.