Criticized for having an excessive fund balance, Port Jervis School District Superintendent John Bell defended the practice saying it would save taxpayer money, according to a Dec. 5 public letter on the district website.  
The letter came on the heels of a new audit by the New York State Comptroller’s Office, which found the district maintained a fund balance three to five times the statutory limit in the past four years. 
Fund balance is an accumulation of unspent revenue. 
According to the New York state’s Real Property Tax Law, a school district cannot maintain a fund balance of more than 4 percent of the next year’s budget, although surpluses above that limit can be used to lower property tax levies or fund reserves. …