With a sense of hope and pride, I write to you today; however these are tempered with a concern for our children, community, school district and state. You may have heard that the district is facing the challenge of a cash flow shortfall this year if Amendment 61 were to pass in the November 2 election. This cash flow shortfall may hamper our ability to provide stable, uninterrupted school programs without a sustainable source of funds.

The district is on track for a certain $300,000 cash shortfall as of November 3, 2010, due to the suspension of the State Cash Flow Interest-Free Loan Program. If voters approve Amendment 61, this would be followed by an overall shortfall of $2.2 million over the course of the year. It is important that you be informed and that you understand why the district will experience this shortage. I also want you to understand the possible solutions the Board of Education is considering in order to ensure adequate funding to support continuous services for our students from August to June.

It is my goal to keep you informed with accurate, up-to-date information, and to ease some of the alarm created by misunderstandings, rumors and speculations circulating in the county and state. I hope to create a better understanding of why East Grand School District may experience this cash flow shortage, even though we have a balanced budget. It is essential that you understand that this situation is not due to mismanagement of funds, but due to the State School Finance Act guidelines and applicable laws.