OXNARD : District Reserves Fall Below State’s Norm
For the third year in a row, the Oxnard Union High School District’s reserve fund has fallen short of the amount recommended by the state to ensure financial security.
At the beginning of this fiscal year, the district had $1.2 million in reserves, which amounts to 2.4% of its general fund, according to an audited financial report presented to the school board this week. The state recommends that districts have a financial cushion equal to at least 3% of their general funds.
But the Oxnard district is still in better shape than last year, when its reserve fund fell to a low of $653,012, or 1.3% of the general fund.
District officials project that the fund will increase to 3.1% by the summer, when the present fiscal year ends.
Supt. Bill Studt said the district knowingly depleted its reserves two years ago, reducing them by about $650,000, to give employees a raise.
Since then, he said, “we’ve been building those back up.”
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