The school district will not need additional state funds to finish the school year

The Normandy School District will not draw down an additional $2 million in state funds that was appropriated in the Missouri state budget to help the district finish the school year. Department and district review of financial statements, outstanding bills and bank balances shows that the district will not have a negative balance at the end of June.

“Normandy’s financial situation was fragile this year with the added expense of the transfer tuition and transportation,” said Deputy Commissioner of Finance Ron Lankford. “Major cuts as the result of closing an elementary school and reducing staff at mid-year, along with careful financial management, allowed the children to finish school and kept Normandy solvent.”

The Normandy School District should end the year with a small but positive balance in the bank before transitioning to the Normandy Schools Collaborative on July 1. Language in the supplemental budget item for Normandy states that the funding would only be used to the extent required to complete the 2013-14 school year.

In February, the State Board of Education approved a recommendation from the Department to impose financial oversight over the Normandy School District. All expenditures, contracts, and financial obligations were approved by Department staff. This oversight helped ensure that any and all monies appropriated through the legislature would be monitored and expended judiciously, and that any and all measures necessary to ensure the completion of the year would be taken.