Onteora Middle/Senior High School is shown on Oct. 7, 2020.
BOICEVILLE, N.Y. – Onteora school officials have $13.8 million in seven reserve accounts, a 39.63% reduction of $9.05 million in the funding used to offset borrowing on capital projects and big-ticket personnel expenses, district figures show.
The 2024-25 district fund balance and reserve plan was adopted Tuesday during a Board of Education meeting.
District policy requires that the updated plan and an accounting of the funds be approved annually, with some of the accounts rarely used.
“We used the repair reserve this year for the first time in a long time,” Assistant Superintendent Monica LaClair said.
“The capital reserve (accounts) is a mechanism where we save money over time and then when we go to do a building project that money offsets any borrowing that we need to do,” she said. “But we still get aid on that. So, if do a $20 million project but have $10 million in our savings account to help pay for it and borrowing $10 million, we are getting aid on the $20 million.”
Officials have also found it helpful to have the funds in accounts during a period when bank rates have been higher.
“We’re in an environment where we have no debt and we have money in savings … earning about 5%,” LaClair said. “Our interest income is a lot more than it used to be.”
The use of each reserve fund is restricted in scope based on propositions approved by voters. Of the accounts used for infrastructure and building needs, only the 2021 and 2023 capital reserve funds are identified by the year they were adopted.
“Most of them have been part of the district for a long time,” LaClair said.
“Recently, it’s been all the classroom upgrades in the middle school and high school,” she said. “We’ve done bathroom renovations. In the gymnasium, that bathroom is brand new and it’s finally (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible and the ramp going into the gym was just put in a few years ago to make it ADA accessible. It was all with capital reserve money.”
There will also be $2.79 million in assigned fund balance account for a 14.58% decrease of $476,615; and unassigned fund balance of $2.49 million for a 1.82% increase of $44,674.
Balances in the district reserve accounts include:
• Employee benefit accrued liability at $1.61 million for a 0.99% decrease of $16,000.
• Unemployment insurance reserve at $750,009 for a 1.44% decrease of $10,979.
• Retirement contribution reserve unchanged at $4.5 million.
• Retirement contribution teacher retirement system unchanged at $2.01 million.
• Capital reserve funds approved in 2021 at $73,155 for a 99.18% decrease of $8.8 million.
• Capital reserve funds approved in 2023 unchanged at $4.02 million.
• Repair reserve at $836,935 for a 21.23% decrease of $225,579.
