'Excess Surplus' Funds to Cover Projects' Overruns

Projects to replace lintels at Hillsborough Middle School, and upgrade the air conditioning for the computer server room at Hillsborough High School are proving more expensive than expected, but school board member Greg Gillette said funds to pay for the work have been identified.

Gillette, a member of the board's Operations Committee, said the work replacing lintels over the exterior entrance doors at the middle school, part of the emergency work approved at the Oct. 22 meeting, will be more expensive than initially expected.

Also, additional electrical work is needed in order to replace the HVAC unit for the high school server room, driving costs up to $127,000. Gillette said that was about twice what had been expected for the work.

But Gillette said some of the overrun will be paid for by "excess surplus" funds, funds in the district's surplus account that exceeds 2 percent of the school budget. Surplus funds are frequently used to pay for emergency repairs, and districts can include an estimated 2 percent of the annual budget in such accounts annually for such contingencies.

Funding for the balance of the work will be paid from the district's capital reserve budget.