District CFO reports quarter‑two finances: MLO proceeds increase local revenue but state equalization shortfall lowers state revenue

At the February 2025 Harrison School District No. 2 board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Tori Arcure presented the district’s quarter‑two financial report and highlighted several budgetary drivers the district is tracking ahead of next year’s budget cycle.

Arcure said the projection for local property‑tax revenue is roughly $30,000,000 compared with an original budget figure near $20,000,000; she attributed the difference to Mill Levy Override (MLO) proceeds expected in the spring. She also reported that state equalization revenue is projected to come in at about $128.8 million — roughly $4.1 million less than the amount budgeted — driven by adjustments in student counts used for state funding calculations.

On expenditures, Arcure said salary projections have fallen from a budgeted ~$79 million to an anticipated ~$75 million because of open positions. In contrast, the purchased‑services category is running well above budget: Arcure reported a projection of about $23.7 million against an original $14.5 million budget for that category, driven by higher-than-anticipated substitute costs, athletics expenses and summer school spending. Workers’ compensation costs were also higher than budgeted (projected near $900,000 versus an original allocation near $600,000), which Arcure attributed to weather‑related incidents and slips/falls.

Arcure explained an accounting adjustment that moved Medicaid reimbursements into the general fund (previously shown as a separate fund), which reduced the reported total for designated purpose grants; she said this is an accounting classification change rather than a loss of funds. She also reported the district’s projected ending fund balance shows improvement versus an earlier projection — about a $4.9 million improvement compared with the prior outlook — but said the revised budget submitted in January had not yet been accepted by the state at the time of the presentation.

Arcure told the board she will present a cleaner reporting layout next quarter (original budget, revised budget and projections) after the revised budget has been processed. Board members asked clarifying questions; Arcure advised staff will continue monitoring several line items as budget templates are rolled out to schools this spring.

The board took no immediate fiscal action during the presentation; consent and budget resolutions were addressed later in the meeting as part of the regular consent agenda process.