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23 <br /> Fund Balance <br /> 7,000,004 i <br /> 6,610,000 <br /> 6,120,00 <br /> 6,000,000 <br /> 5,456,494 <br /> 5,000,000930,00© <br /> 4,340,000 <br /> 4,000,000 <br /> 4217,[30 / <br /> 3,000,000 <br /> 2,400,000 <br /> 1,000,040 <br /> fl <br /> 2024 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 <br /> �Actual <br /> When the District does not expend its local revenue in a fiscal year, the remaining balance <br /> is carried forward into the next fiscal year as "fund balance". OCS began the 2026 fiscal <br /> year with a fund balance total of approximately $5.4 million. <br /> EdNC recently published an article surrounding NC school district fund balances that in- <br /> cluded data for every district in NC. It was noted in this article that the Local Government <br /> Commission (LGC) stated there is no statutory requirement for a minimum amount kept in <br /> fund balance. It was noted that even a fund balance of 8%-which is typically equal to one <br /> month of expenditures-wouldn't likely represent sufficient reserves during periods of de- <br /> clining revenues, or to be used for emergencies and unforeseen expenses. We unfortu- <br /> nately heard this first hand from our colleagues in western NC following hurricane Helene. <br /> It is important to keep in mind that school districts with higher fund balances may be bet- <br /> ter prepared to fill the gaps associated with federal and state funding uncertainties, but it <br /> is no guarantee. Money typically spent from fund balance is not replenished the following <br /> year which is why it should only be utilized for one time, non-recurring items. <br /> 23 <br />