Why it Matters: Most districts maintain a positive fund balance, and it is a sign of fiscal distress if the fund balance is negative. Districts typically find it beneficial to keep the fund balance from declining too greatly as this inhibits their ability to cope with unexpected circumstances in either the revenue or expenditure stream. The actual variable constructed for this indicator is the General Fund Balance as a proportion of Expenditures. If a unit maintains a General Fund Balance less than the trigger, it scores a 1. Conversely a General Fund Balance above the trigger, it scores a 0. (n026) (o92)

Data Source: The school district financial data comes from two sources. Historic data is provided by downloads from the State Department of Education. Future data is loaded by the respective school district financial department. (n040)