The Mariposa County Unified School District has taken the necessary action to borrow about $2 million in the coming months if needed. The board acted on two resolutions at its regular meeting on April 15.

Director of Business Services Linda Levesque explained the district’s quandary. She said her office is trying to tackle two issues: bal ancing the budget and maintaining its cash flow.

Levesque presented a resolution that would first borrow from the Mariposa County Office of Education, which she called the district’s “first line of defense.” That loan, not to be more than $1 million, could carry the district through mid-June.

The district’s most pressing problem appears to be meeting payroll as the end of June nears. Levesque said the district’s payroll totals about $1.4 million each month. According to a chart she presented, the district’s general fund balance is projected to dip to just $383,669 in June. The county office loan would bump that up to just over $1 million.

As the state’s budget crisis worsens and an on-time budget seems an unlikely prospect, the district faces an ever deeper problem in late summer. Levesque’s second resolution proposes that the district borrow from the Mariposa County Treasurer to meet what could be a $1.2 million deficit by mid-August.

Mariposa County is required by education code to loan the district the funds if it has them on hand. Levesque has been working with the county to ensure that the funding would be available, should it be needed.

Levesque explained that the situation may not call for such drastic measures, but the process is in place if needed. “It’s a precaution,” she said of the board’s action. “We’re setting up all the actions. We’re looking months ahead of where we need to be. If we get there, we just make the transfers and we’re ahead of the game.”

In the past, when the district’s cash flow is tight, Mariposa County has allowed the district to “float” on its developer fee balance. That balance will be considerably less this year as the Lake Don Pedro Elementary multi-purpose room will be completed soon.

“So what do we have to fall back on,” Levesque asked rhetorically, “nothing.”

Acting Superintendent Aaron Rosander said that while the state may promise coming revenue, it could also withhold more than the district expects, too. Such state inaction places the district in a precarious position. “It comes at awkward times,” Rosander said of the state’s debacle. “We run out of cash.”

In a separate matter that has been plaguing the district budget for three years, the board heard a brief report from Levesque about Sodexho, the company with which it contracts its food service. The district has been losing thousands of dollars since the company took over.

Levesque said she has had about enough of the venture. “I can’t justify what we’re getting from Sodexho at this point,” she told the board. In fact, she said she will be withholding the company’s check this month. “I’m putting their feet to the fire,” she said.