House Next Stop for Senate Measure Helping School Cash Flow

Senate Bill 531 is on its way to the State House of Representatives. That’s after winning unanimous approval by the Senate on Tuesday. Senator Scott Pruitt, R-Broken Arrow, said the bill is designed to help school districts with cash-flow problems resulting from unforeseen expenses and fluctuating revenues.

“Our school districts do a very careful job of planning their budgets, but there are some things that can’t be completely anticipated—a big spike in fuel prices, for example, can have a serious budgetary impact,” explained Pruitt.

Currently, certain school districts with general operating funds of at least $10 million face an eight percent cap for carryover funds. SB 531 would raise that amount to 14 percent.

“That way, if a school district is faced with unanticipated expenses or fluctuations in revenue, they’ll be better prepared financially,” Pruitt said. “We’re simply saying that if these districts are able to save on expenditures during the year, they can hold on to more of that for the next budget year.”

Pruitt said in addition to giving the district’s greater cash-flow flexibility, it will also benefit them in other ways that will help save money.

“Helping districts with their cash flow will actually making them more financially secure and that will give them a better bond rating. A better bond rating means they’ll have a lower cost on bond issues that benefit the district—ultimately that’s good news for taxpayers.”