Bill Would Allow School Boards To Maintain Contingency Funds
State Rep. DebraLee Hovey (R-Monroe, Newtown) has introduced legislation that would benefit Monroe and Newtown taxpayers by allowing school boards to establish contingency funds. House Bill 6105, An Act Authorizing Local And Regional Boards Of Education To Establish Contingency Funds, has been submitted to the Legislature’s Education Committee.
HB 6105 would amend statutes to allow the creation of contingency funds of up to $150,000 for emergency use and to prevent ‘forced’ spending at the end of a fiscal year. Such funds would be included in any audit of local school systems performed by the State Department of Education.
“Because state law doesn’t currently allow for contingency funds, it makes school budgets unnecessarily difficult for towns,” said Rep. Hovey. “For example, if it hasn’t been budgeted for, a new student moving into a district can desecrate certain accounts. On the opposite side, many times districts find themselves spending money quickly at the end of the fiscal year because they know they can’t hold it over for the next one. Considering how much of our local property taxes are used for education, it makes sense to put a safeguard in place to address these issues.”
