Schools
Nutley School Board Reports $1.6 Million Surplus
Board of Education's auditors report that the money must be applied to the 2013-14 school budget to keep tax rates from rising, and should be used for one-time only expenses.
The Nutley Board of Education learned Monday night that the school district has $1.6 million excess surplus that must be used to reduce spending and taxes increases in next year's budget.
Gary Vinci of the auditing firm of Lerch, Vinci & Higgins told school officials that the district has a total of $3,450,000 in surplus, but the $1.6 million has a specific use.
"The district is required to use the balance in the 2013-14 budget," Vinci said.
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Because the amount of excess surplus can greatly fluctuate from year to year, he recommended how the school board should use the money.
"The surplus should be used for one-time expenses," Vinci said.
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The total $3.45 million represents about 2 percent of the total budget, he said.
Vinci said the increase of more than a million dollars came mostly from two budget accounts, Vinci said.
"The savings came from tuition costs and the maintenance of school facilities," Vinci said. "The two accounts make up about $800,000 of the total."
School officials did not comment during Vinci's presentation, but several said afterward that the budget committee will review all the numbers and make sure the money is applied to the next budget properly.
