ECISD building effort may deplete district's fund balance
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

El Campo ISD administration did some serious number crunching and came up with a way to pay for upgrades to Ricebird Stadium and the high school science building, but the district's savings account will take a hit if plans go forward.

According to figures provided to district trustees Tuesday, coming up with the estimated $5,384,302 needed for the two projects means delaying other projects and dropping the district's savings to a less-than-optimum amount.

"It's a risk, but it's a calculated risk," Superintendent Mark Pool told trustees.

In August, the board asked its architects to draw up plans to renovate the 42-year-old science building, updating it and adding two labs to comply with higher course requirements mandated by the state. The board also wants to install artificial turf and replace the corroded track at Ricebird Stadium so all grades may use the facility.

The track/turf project and science building renovations are part of $15 million in improvements the district has identified and prioritized in recent months.

The district's fund balance - savings account - currently stands at around $9,759,145. Also available for use is $813,012 budgeted for capital improvements, and a projected surplus of $286,182 from the $22 million used for the new middle school and high school practice gymnasium projects. Those amounts total $10,858,339.

From that administrators subtracted $6,181,898: $1,815,126 in fund balance money already designated for other uses, $392,562 in budget amendments so far this year and $3,974,210, which is a fund balance of 15 percent of annual operating expenses.

This leaves the district with $4,676,441 to spend on projects, which is $707,861 short of the $5,384,302 it estimates it needs for the science building and turf/track projects.

Pool said if that district pulls the $707,861 from the fund balance, the remaining fund balance of $3,266,349 would still be within the acceptable range as determined by the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas.

However, a $3.266 million fund balance equating to 12.33 percent of annual operating expenses, would be the lowest percentage the district has had in recent memory.

ECISD Assistant Superintendent for Finance David Bright showed trustees a table giving fund balance figures going back to the 1987-88 school year. The lowest percentage on that chart was 18.57 percent during the 1994-95 school year, when the district was paying for new elementary schools built without bond funding.

The board took no action on the funding plan, which was on the agenda only as an informational item.