ML finance on track for 2016-17 school year

The Medical Lake School Board went through their Feb. 28 meeting with a light agenda.

During reports, Director of Finance Chad Moss said the projected ending fund balance for the 2016-17 school year seems to be adhering to projections.

“Revenues are kind of down and projections are kind of down,” he said.

The total revenue is currently over $21.145 million, which is $354,067 less than what the district budgeted. Expenditures are over $21.38 million, or $519,533 less than projections.

Moss said the decline in revenue and expenditures is partially due to decline in enrollment.

In the only action item, the board approved the 2017-18 school year calendar. The first day of school is Aug. 30 and the last day is June 12, 2018.

According to information provided by the district, Medical Lake has received 80 percent of the $1.6 million in Impact Aid so far this year.

“There’s a good chance we’ll end at the spot this year, though next year we’re uncertain about Impact Aid with the possibility of sequester,” Moss said.

“We’re going to look over our budget and ready to go to D.C.,” Superintendent Tim Ames added. “Impact Aid can be taken away with a swipe of a pen.”

During the meeting, Ames announced Medical Lake Middle School received the 2016 Gold Star Award for being one of the top-performing districts in the state in terms of sign-ups for the College Bound Scholarship program.

The program encourages students, particularly those in middle school, to pursue educational opportunities beyond high school.

The number of Medical Lake Middle School students who have signed up for the program exceeds the state average. This is the second time the school has received the award.

“We’ve done a good job in getting students signed up for the program,” Ames said. “We need to make sure we’re continuing to inform students about college opportunities when they’re in high school.”

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].