The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Board of Education approved its latest five-year financial forecast on Monday, and the news is good, but not great, for the district. 

The good news? The forecast reflects changes the district has made through its latest teachers and staff union contracts. The decreased spending due to salary freezes and other measures means that the district won’t have a negative cash balance as soon as it thought.  

But the district still expects to spend more than it brings in each year of the forecast, and Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer Rick Berdine thinks the district will have a negative cash balance—or be out of money—by fiscal year 2016, which begins on July 1, 2015.

This is an improvement from May’s forecast, which expected that negative cash balance to appear the year earlier, in fiscal year 2015. 

Berdine’s presentation from Monday notes that the district expects to continue losing state money, although future state budgets are unknown. Insurance costs are expected to rise, despite savings made in the contract negotiations, and there are no new levies included in the forecast.

The forecast is just an estimate and is required by the state twice a year. Brecksville-Broadview Heights includes “upsides/downsides” in the informal report, which allows the board to see the potential impact of possibilities, such as the passage of a new levy, a decrease in participation in student activities or an increase in salaries.

The district expects to bring in about $44,500,000 this fiscal year (fiscal year 2013) and to spend about $47,400,000.

Berdine’s presentation, as well as the official five-year financial forecast, are available on the district’s website.

Editor's note: This headline was corrected to reflect that there is a salary freeze for teachers in the new contract.