Baldwin Community - STEP 6: General Fund

[Shadowninja]

Dearest reader,

Step 6 takes us back to Baldwin Community Schools' General Fund.

And this time, we're looking at three year-end balances:

June 30, 2023: $11,518,079
June 30, 2024: $13,638,507
June 30, 2025: $15,695,842

In two years, Baldwin's General Fund balance increased by $4,177,763 — or 36.3%.

How?

The district ran sizable General Fund surpluses in both audited years.

2023–24:
Revenue: $13,854,341
Expenditures: $11,733,913
Surplus: $2,120,428

2024–25:
Revenue: $13,960,124
Expenditures: $11,929,769
Other financing sources: $26,980
Increase in fund balance: $2,057,335

And in both years, Baldwin finished better than its final budget projected.

2023–24: $243,345 better
2024–25: $221,834 better

Now let's put another receipt beside those numbers.

Baldwin's August 2023 bond proposal did not pass. The district returned to voters in November 2024 with another bond proposal, which voters approved. The following February, Baldwin issued $12.99 million in Building and Site Bonds, plus a $777,407 bond premium.

And here's where context matters.

A healthy General Fund balance does NOT automatically mean those dollars could or should have replaced bond financing. General Fund operating dollars and bond proceeds serve different purposes, and the district's own 2023–24 audit stated that operating dollars were insufficient to address the renovations it identified.

So I'm not going to pretend the ledger answers a question it doesn't.

But I am going to show you both receipts:

General Fund balance: +36.3% in two years.
Building bond issued: $12.99 million.

What those numbers mean together?

That's a conversation worth having.

Because sometimes the interesting part of a public ledger isn't one number.

It's what happens when you put two of them next to each other. 👑📖

Sources:
Baldwin Community Schools — 2023–24 Audited Financial Statements
Baldwin Community Schools — 2024–25 Audited Financial Statements
Baldwin Community Schools — 2024–25 Audit, Long-Term Obligations

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