6235 - FUND BALANCE

The Board places the responsibility of administering the budget, once adopted, with the District Administrator. The District Administrator shall monitor the Fund 10 fund balance and shall report the balance to the Board at the end of each budget year. The Fund 10 fund balance shall be maintained at a level sufficient to:

1. minimize or avoid short-term borrowing for cash flow purposes;
2. cover unforeseen expenditure needs or unrealized revenue sources; and
3. demonstrate financial stability to preserve or enhance the District's bond rating, thereby lowering debt issuance costs.

The Board will reserve adequate funds to maintain a secure financial position. The use of Fund Balance for recurring costs is discouraged.

The target Fund Balance range for maintaining the District's financial stability is ten percent (10%) of the preceding year's Fund 10 expenditures.

Budget preparation and management shall adhere to this fund balance expectation. (See Policy 6220 - Budget Preparation and Policy 6231 - Budget Implementation.)

Fund balances will be reported in the categories established by the Government Accounting Standards Board Statement 54 (GASB 54) and in consultation with District auditors and District Accountant. The Board will impose constraints on any funds placed in the committed and assigned classifications through consultation with the District’s auditor and District Accountant. The applicable categories for fund balance designations are:

1. Nonspendable Fund Balance - amounts that cannot be spent because they are either (a) not in a spendable form (which includes items that are not expected to be converted to cash – e.g.,  inventories or prepaid amounts) or (b) legally or contractually required to be maintained intact (e.g., the corpus of an endowment fund).

2. Restricted Fund Balance - amounts constrained to specific purposes by their providers (such as grantors, bondholders, and higher levels of government), through constitutional provisions, or by enabling legislation.

3. Committed Fund Balance - amounts constrained to specific purposes by the Board; to be reported as committed, amounts cannot be used for any other purpose unless the Board takes action to remove or change the constraint.

4. Assigned Fund Balance- amounts the Board intends to use for a specific purpose but are neither restricted nor committed; intent can be expressed by the Board or by an official or committee to which the Board delegates the authority.

5. Unassigned Fund Balance- amounts that are available for any purpose; these amounts are reported only in the general fund.

The Board discourages the maintenance of unassigned fund balances.

If, during the fiscal year, it appears to the District Administrator that the fund balance will be less than estimated, the District Administrator will bring forward for Board consideration recommendations that will protect the fund balances. Such recommendations shall be in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Revised 4/15/19
Revised 2/17/25
T.C. 8/18/25

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