The Port Jervis School District plans to change several financial practices under new superintendent John Bell since a state audit concluded ineffective fiscal management last fall.
A key move is to drive the fund balance down to within the statutory limit, which is 4 percent of the school budget, or around $3.6 million.
The fund balance is a savings account where unspent revenue from past years accumulates.
The state recommends that surpluses above the 4 percent mark be used toward reducing the tax levy, paying off debts, or filling up reserves, instead of piling up as savings year after year.
However, over the past four fiscal years, the Port Jervis District consistently maintained a fund balance three to five times the statutory limit, according to an audit report released by the State Comptroller’s Office last year….