The Detroit Lakes School District may have to resort to short-term borrowing this spring when state payments are delayed.
Business manager Ted Heisserer suggested to the school board Monday that applying for a line of credit is a good idea.
"The state is anticipating a cash flow crunch in March, April, May," he said, adding that about 80 percent of the district's general fund revenue comes from the state.
This spring, the state will withhold about $2.5 million from the district, resulting in a significant decrease in its operating funds.
"The numbers are getting quite a bit smaller than what you're used to seeing," Heisserer said.
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Government officials promised to repay the delays by May 30, but school board chair David Langworthy said this situation happened before in November and may happen again if the state's budget crisis isn't resolved.
"The state will most likely use that statute again in August and September," he said.
In other business:
District technology coordinator Andy Spurlin presented the results of the most recent technology audit.
The district is overall in good technical shape when it comes to network infrastructure, the report concluded.
But there are "severe disconnects between what is being termed 'district level services' and 'school level services,'" the report stated.
The current structure for technical staff across the district is confusing from the outside and also the inside, which is costing the district unnecessary money, according to the report.
In light of the recent report, the school board discussed ways the district could catch up with technology.
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"Technology is moving fast and we've been reactionary," Superintendent Doug Froke said. "The disconnect is starting to play a role in preventing us from moving forward as much as we'd like."
He added that technology should be added to the district's top priorities, suggesting creating a committee with board representation to solely focus on technology advancements.
