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K-12 operating cash reserves hit $1.25 billion

GUEST COLUMN, Dave Trabert, Kansas Policy Institute

New data from the Kansas Department of Education show school districts collectively added $68 million to their operating cash reserves in the last school year, bringing the total to $1.25 billion.

Operating cash reserves exclude balances in Capital Outlay, Federal, and Bond & Interest.  Funds operate like checking accounts; the ending balance increases if more money goes in than is spent.  Taken collectively, the increase in operating cash reserves indicates that school districts did not spend all of the state and local tax dollars provided last year.

Some fund balances, including Supplemental General and Contingency, have no restrictions.  The balances in some funds, like At-Risk, Special Education, and Food Service cannot be spent on anything else, but districts can tap into the money by not transferring General Fund money to them and spending down the balance.

Some of the largest increases include Blue Valley ($9.4 million), Wichita ($9.3 million), Shawnee Mission ($9.2 million), Lawrence ($8 million), Emporia ($3.7 million), and Salina and Olathe each added $3.5 million.