The Hammond School Board is urging school leadership to come up with ways to fix the district's financial problems. Chief Financial Officer Eric Kurtz told board members Tuesday that the school corporation's cash reserves dropped from roughly $13 million to just $3 million over the course of 2022.
"So it really gives us very little liquidity to deal with — you know, if there was a delay in the state paying us, any kinds of contingencies, some major roof incident that required an emergency repair," Kurtz said.
He blamed the issue on declining enrollment, combined with significant pay raises in recent years.
This year is proving to be challenging, as well. The operations fund is currently more than 16 percent over budget.
Kurtz admitted that he didn't have a solid answer for how to fix the problem in the 2024 budget, but he said the district has already been taking some steps. "Particularly in operations fund-funded areas, we have, essentially, a hiring freeze," Kurtz told board members. "We have a process that we are able to thaw the freeze for particular positions."
Another area of concern is the district's self insurance fund, as Kurtz told board member Cindy Murphy.
"Do you think there's enough money in there 'til the end of the year?" Murphy asked.
"No," Kurtz replied.
"Do you have an estimate on how much more we're going to have to go?" Murphy continued.
"At this point, I think, you know, since we've loaned the fund $2.4 million through the end of September, I believe the prudent thing to do is begin to expense a higher level of cost into that fund so there's dollars available," Kurtz explained.
Specifically, the district plans to use federal ESSER money to help fill the gap. But board member Carlotta Blake-King said she wants as much of that money as possible to be used to make up for lost learning.
She called on school leaders to put together a concrete plan for spending cuts. "Let's start cutting some of the fat out of this budget, and we know there's some fat there," Blake-King said. "I've indicated on several levels."
The Indiana Distressed Unit Appeal Board has been monitoring the School City of Hammond's finances, ahead of the referendum renewal on November's ballot.
