Darien School District finance committee reports $231,739 May surplus, outlines year-end close and teacher pay

At a special meeting Thursday, the Darien School District finance committee reviewed the district’s May financial report and heard that the district shows a positive balance of $231,739 for the month.

Rich, who presented the report, said the increase of roughly $55,000 from April reflects a $38,849 special-education settlement adjustment, about $13,246 saved in FICA because of staffing changes, salary savings from a recently vacated groundskeeper position and small recoveries from closed purchase orders. "We are showing a positive balance of $231,739," Rich said.

The committee heard school-level account details: general-education remaining balances totaled $43,651 while special-education remaining balances were about $188,888. Rich listed small positive balances across multiple schools and accounts, including textbook and teaching-supply lines at Henley, Oxridge, Royal and Tokenique. He also said the district has received the excess-cost revenue it had anticipated for the year.

Committee members asked about near-term staffing and purchase-order activity. Joanna asked whether the vacant groundskeeper position would be difficult to refill; Rich replied that the position has been filled and the new hire is awaiting a start date, leaving only a short-term savings gap. On open purchase orders, Rich explained that blanket POs often leave small residual amounts as they are closed and that the $2,700 in salary savings he referenced could grow slightly as remaining POs are finalized.

On year-end timing, Rich said the fiscal year will remain open for roughly six weeks to process late invoices such as electricity bills that arrive after June 30. He noted the next major cash outflow is a June 19 teacher balloon payment that represents held summer pay and estimated the payout for that check at roughly $10 million to $12 million. "Teachers have a choice between 26 or 22 pays," Rich said, adding that those on a 26-pay schedule effectively receive several remaining pays on the June 19 date.

Rich also walked the committee through state reporting requirements: the district must file the EFS state report by Sept. 1; he said failure to submit that report by the deadline carries a $10,000 fine. After reconciling accounts the board will receive unaudited financial statements and the district will begin its audit in the fall.

Members discussed whether the current surplus would allow pre-purchasing materials tied to an updated technology policy. Rich said significant purchases require planning and would be handled through the next year’s budget process, so he did not expect large immediate expenditures to be approved before the new fiscal year.

There were no transfers to consider and no members of the public participated in public comment. The meeting record ends as a motion to adjourn was made with names listed (Joanna, Bill, Burgger); the transcript does not record a vote in the provided segments.

Key near-term procedural items: the June 19 teacher balloon payment, the roughly six-week closeout window for late invoices, and the Sept. 1 EFS filing deadline with a $10,000 penalty for late submission.