Galloway School District Establishes Maintenance Reserve Fund

The Galloway Township School District announced the formation of a maintenance reserve account at the Board of Education’s meeting Monday night at the

An initial deposit of $100,000 was then placed into the account. According to state statute, the maintenance reserve account balance is never allowed to exceed four percent of the replacement cost of the current year of the district's school facilities.

If the amount exceeds that four percent replacement cost at the end of the school’s fiscal year on June 30, the excess funds are designated in the following year’s budget.

According to Business Administrator Tim Kelley, the four percent number of the Galloway School District far exceeds the $100,000 deposited Monday night.

On Monday night, the Board of Education also deposited unexpired line item balances between $500,000 and $750,000 into the already existing capital reserve account. Kelley will determine the final amount in conjunction with the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year at the end of this week.

The district is attempting to save money in this fund for needed renovations to district schools, including roof replacements. The district attempted to raise money for the improvements, a total value of $6.9 million, via two referendums that were defeated by voters in December of last year and March of this year.

Roof replacement at ,  and elementary schools cost in the neighborhood of $2 million per roof. Roof replacement at  will cost approximately $1.9 million.

The maintenance fund will help the school district deal with small issues as they come up over time.

“The maintenance reserve fund is for smaller items,” Kelley said. “The capital reserve is for large, longer term projects, and that has to be part of the budget.

“It’s something we’ve always been allowed to have, but the district hasn’t had one for a little while. We foresee budgets getting even tighter.”

The school for 2012-13 is $56,123,664 that saw no increase in the tax levy, but there was a 1.5¢ increase for residents due to decreased ratables in Galloway Township.