GENTRY — The Gentry School District is finishing out the current fiscal year in good standing, superintendent Randy Barrett reported to the board on June 20.

At the end of Period 11, the district had approximately $2.7 million in its operating funds, Barrett told the board. Even afterall the bills are paid, Barrett projected that the district would finish the fiscal year about $12,000 ahead of where it was last year.

Barrett requested - and the board approved his request - to transfer money from the operating fund to the building fund to finish the current year with approximately $1.5 million to carry over into next year’s operating budget.

Last year, the boardmoved $900,000 from the operating fund to the building fund to keep the ending balance from climbing to a level which the district may not be able to attain in future years.

Barrett said moving money into the building fund was a legitimate thing to do and could also be used as a cushion for the district should recent tax assessments cause incoming district revenue to decline.

News, Pages 7 on 06/29/2011