FCBOE makes financial history

The Franklin County Board of Education made an exciting announcement at the Sept. 11 board meeting: for the first time since the 2003 Accountability Act that requires the school system to have a one-month fund balance, Franklin County has met that requirement.

“We’ve worked extremely hard. We finally caught a break, and this has us going in the right direction,” Superintendent Greg Hamilton said.

Chief School Finance Officer Carla Knight announced the system’s ending one-month fund balance is $3.1 million.

This landmark was achieved in large part thanks to FEMA finally providing the system with funding that was promised after the 2011 storms, Knight explained. At the beginning of August, FEMA gave Franklin County Schools a check for $5.5 million. This allowed the system to pay back a loan that was taken out last year and still have the $3.1 million left over.

“It’s one of those things that you really think will never happen, then it finally does, and we can’t believe it’s finally here,” Knight said.

It took seven and a half years for FEMA to settle up that balance with FCS, and according to the board, Hamilton and Knight worked relentlessly to get the funding by making countless phone calls, emails and visits on a federal level.

“Without hard work it doesn’t happen, and these two are to be commended,” council member Mike Shewbart said of Hamilton and Knight.

In other FC budget news, the system is looking at a $37 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which is up $1 million from last year, mostly because of the two and a half percent raise that will go into effect Oct. 1.

Knight said this is the best-looking budget the system has had since 2008.