(Griswold) Griswold Schools Superintendent Dave Henrichs reported some good news regarding school finance to the school board on Monday, as Business Official Dan Rold shared positive updates. Henrichs emphasized the importance of the unspent authorized budget, which represents the amount of money a school district can legally spend. He explained that if the unspent authorized budget becomes negative, the school district could face the possibility of closure.
Rold reported that the district’s estimated fiscal year-ending fund balance was $2.3 million, which ended at $2.5 million, slightly exceeding expectations by almost $200,000. Henrichs pointed out that this compares to an authorized spent balance of $1.1 million in the fiscal year 2017. Over seven years, the district has increased its unspent budget authority by over $1.4 million. Henrichs attributed this healthy recovery to several factors, with the consolidation of all district facilities into one location being the most significant.
Additionally, removing phones from the classrooms resulted in a monthly savings of around $3,000 for the district. He emphasized that these changes were implemented without cutting staff.