Finance director reports reserves, county payment delays and potential bond window

Carlton Brooks briefed the Normandy Schools Joint Executive Governing Board on the district's cash-flow and reserve position through Feb. 28 and answered board questions about delayed county payments and the prospect of a bond referendum.

Brooks said the district ended February with about $9.3 million in operating savings — roughly an 18.5% reserve — and projected March expenditures that could reduce the reserve to about $3.1 million (roughly 6.6%) before anticipated March revenues arrive. "We anticipate receiving $7,200,000 in revenues from St. Louis County in addition to state foundation formula monies," Brooks said, adding that those receipts would boost reserves back to about $10.3 million, or roughly 20.1 percent.

Brooks told the board that Saint Louis County has installed a new accounting system that has delayed distributions; he said the county is expected to remit the outstanding funds (about $6M–$7M). He also reviewed year-to-date totals (approximately $44.7M revenues and $43.9M expenditures) and summarized operational spending categories.

On capital planning, Brooks flagged the possibility of pursuing a bond referendum this year and explained timing consequences: running in August or November this year would carry different voter approval thresholds than waiting a year. Director William Humphrey asked the board schedule a fuller conversation about bond priorities and messaging to ensure member buy-in before any public campaign.

Brooks said the board's compiled questions from a March 3 budget workshop will be answered by March 24, and he noted several near-term procurement items — fleet (buses) delays and a forthcoming RFP for accounting/human-resources systems — that the board will consider in subsequent meetings.

No formal financial action was taken during the March 10 meeting; the board asked for additional detail about anticipated revenues and for follow-up work on bond timing and costs.