WESTMINSTER : Schools to Draw on Reserve Funds

Trustees of the Westminster School District have agreed to draw on reserve funds to cover a projected $1.1-million deficit for the 1991-92 school year.

The shortfall, representing about 3% of the $34.5-million spending plan approved by the board last week, is expected largely because of the state budget crisis and the opening of an additional school this fall, officials said.

But despite the deficit, officials said the district remains in good fiscal shape.

“Considering the state budget situation, we’re in sound financial condition,” said Ronald H. Fraser, assistant superintendent for business services. He added that after withdrawing the money needed to balance the budget, the district was able to maintain a healthy $3.9 million in its reserve account.

The district, Fraser said, has fortified its reserves over the years by saving money such as state supplemental grants and lottery revenue funds each year.

Additionally, the district’s recent upturn in enrollment has improved its financial prospects, Fraser said. After enrollment plunged by nearly half between 1969 and 1988, it has since grown by nearly 1,000 students during the last three years. The district’s current enrollment of 8,500 is expected to climb by another 350 next year, Fraser said.

With growing enrollment, however, has come some increased costs. To accommodate the recent growth, the district has been buying dozens of portable classrooms each year. In September, it will reopen Finley School, a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade site that has been closed for the past decade.

Opening the district’s 17th school is expected to cost at least $500,000, said George J. Acton, the district’s director of purchasing and financial services.

Like districts statewide, the Westminster School District could face steep spending cuts if the financial situation in Sacramento does not improve during the next year, Fraser said.

The school board, without discussion, approved the budget Thursday at a lightly attended meeting.

The new budget was prepared under the guidance of Bill Lawson, who has been interim superintendent for the last 23 months. The district’s new superintendent, Gail Wickstrom, begins her new job today.