Muncie Community Schools hears of brighter financial future

Members of the emergency management team are optimistic that Indiana lawmakers will approve measures to help MCS dig its way out debt by providing access to cash. That would help the corporation meet its obligations under a $10 million bond MCS received that was supposed to be used for school infrastructure improvements, but was instead spent on operations.

Paul Pfledderer, chief financial officer, said MCS will receive about $11 million this year in tax revenue. That figure was once in the $20 million range, but Pfledderer said property tax caps took about 43 percent of the money. "That's all you're going to get, probably until forever," he said.

The good news is the corporation's debt service, capital projects and transportation funds are running in the black, or running just slightly below projected revenue. MCS has $11 million among those three funds, Pfledderer said. "Those three funds are pretty well fixed now. They were not fixed a year ago."