The Mount Vernon School District joined the Iowa Local Government Risk Pool Commission for their fuel costs for the upcoming fiscal year.
Business manager Michael Marshall said that paying for gas out of the risk pool would allow for the fund to be paid for via the management fund of the district, as opposed to the general fund.
That would allow the roughly $100,000 in gas costs the district pays annually to shift to a different fund, and free up monies in the general fund.
“While we’ll pay slightly more out of the management fund to be part of the risk pool this year, it frees up monies from the general fund,” Marshall said.
Marshall said there is enough money in the management fund to be able to utilize for the cost.
School board member Lance Schoff asked if there were any potential risks for joining the risk pool.
Marshall said that there were originally concerns with the legality of the risk pool, but because the state auditor ruled it was a legal use of a 28E agreement, the number of districts utilizing the risk pool has increased.
School board member Jeremy Kunz said it was very similar to budget billing with Alliant Energy, in that a district pays on their usage of fuel from last year and at the end of the year if they used more fuel than expected, the amount to pay to stay in the fund would increase.
The district would be able to leave the risk pool at any time at the end of a year by letting the risk pool know.
Superintendent Greg Batenhorst said the district is also investigating potential of solar panels to help lower electrical costs for the district. The first plan for solar panels at the district could come in the next few months before the school board.
Mount Vernon Schools joins risk pool for fuel
Nathan Countryman, Editor
April 4, 2024
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.