Greensburg Salem projected to end school year with $1M operating surplus
Apr. 15—The covid-19 pandemic made the 2020-21 school year challenging for the Greensburg Salem School District, though not necessarily for the bottom line.
A forecast of the 2020-21 budget, presented this week to the school board, shows a potential operating surplus of about $1 million and a fund balance of more than $5.2 million, which represents more than 11% of the budget total.
Business Manager J.R. Dzurica projects that rosy picture based on year-to-date dollar amounts and historic trends, but he cautioned that actual budget figures could be quite different by the end of the fiscal year in June.
When the district approved its budget last year, pandemic restrictions were closing businesses and driving up the unemployment rate, prompting Dzurica to plan for a 3% reduction in revenue. But now, he said, it looks like this year's revenues could total more than $47.3 million, exceeding budget projections by about $1.5 million.
Revenues from real estate, real estate transfer and earned income taxes all are expected to exceed budgeted amounts, according to Dzurica. "With low interest rates, a lot of people are buying houses," he said.
Expenses for the year also are projected to exceed the budgeted figure, but only by about $47,000.
Greensburg Salem received a little more than $1 million in two allotments of federal funding under the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act, which helped cover some of the unexpected costs incurred to cope with the pandemic.
"A lot of the technology for remote learning and cleaning supplies we were able to fund through the CARES Act," Dzurica said.
Because of remote learning, busing costs could come in under budget. There also were savings associated with refinancing district debt and replacing staff who retired or resigned with lower-salaried employees or long-term substitutes.
The district expects to receive about $7 million in an additional round of federal pandemic recovery funding. The school board is set to act on a proposed 2021-22 budget on May 19, with a final budget adopted on June 23.
Greensburg Salem's food service program, operated by The Nutrition Group, also is outperforming financial expectations, according to company representative Kelly Valmassoni. The company committed to providing the district a financial return of about $83,000 for 2020-21 but actually provided more than $101,000 as of February, she said.
In personnel matters, the school board agreed to advertise for a grant writer and approved two annual salary hikes of $1,500, through the 2022-23 school year, for the director of informational services. The district will freeze the salary for that position in 2023-24.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .
