Revised forecast gives Penta more to spend

1/12/2006

Penta Career Center likely will have more money than had been expected.

The board of education last night approved a revised five-year forecast that estimated revenue for fiscal year 2006 as increasing by $1.1 million from the previous five-year forecast.

According to the Wood County Auditor's Office, the center should see an increase in local tax receipts next year, fiscal 2007. The bulk of that change - $825,000 - will be in real estate taxes, Penta Treasurer Carrie Herringshaw told the board.

Estimated total revenue for fiscal year 2006, which ends in June, is $23,779,968. That's an increase of 6.5 percent over the previous year's revenue of about $22,335,342. Expenditures are estimated to be $22,065,040.

Other changes in the forecast include moving $1.5 million from the general fund to the permanent improvement fund to offset building costs. The board approved that transfer last night.

Ms. Herringshaw said the career center borrowed $65 million for construction of its new building and expects to borrow $20 million more. The project is expected to cost $90 million.

"[The transfer] reduces what we'll have to borrow," she said.

According to the revised forecast, the center will have an unreserved balance of $2.4 million at the end of June, 2006, and a balance of about $1.1 million at the end of June, 2010.

"We're maintaining a cash balance that's staying about what it has been," Ms. Herringshaw said.

In other action, the board elected Pat Curtin president for 2006. He is a graduate of the career center.

The career center has high school students from 16 districts: Anthony Wayne, Bowling Green, Benton-Carroll-Salem, Eastwood, Elmwood, Genoa, Lake, Maumee, North Baltimore, Northwood, Otsego, Perrysburg, Rossford, Springfield, Swanton, and Woodmore.