On July 31, the Salisbury Township School Board held a finance committee meeting following a special board meeting to interview for a vacancy on the board and an operations committee meeting.

Chief Financial Officer Dawn Nickischer gave a presentation designed to help board members develop a better understanding of the Pennsylvania Department of Education chart of accounts which is used in creating the yearly budget.

Over the next few months Nickischer plans to focus on one portion of the chart of accounts in an effort to broaden each member’s understanding of what is contained in each specific section and how they are coded.

Board members received a reference booklet to follow and were able to ask questions for further clarification.

The area of focus for this month was the accounts code structure which includes funds such as the general fund, capital reserve fund, capital projects fund and food services fund to name a few. Funds are used to carry on specific activities or attain certain objectives and are subject to specific legislation, regulations and restrictions.

In other news, Nickischer updated the board on the status of the yearly audit. This year will be the first with the Buckno Lisicky & Company and there is a great deal of information to be gathered in order to make the Oct. 31 deadline.

Once the annual financial report is complete it will allow the board to have a clearer financial picture compared to years past.

Director Sam DeFrank expressed concern over the district’s finances since at this time the state budget has not yet been passed.

Nickischer reassured the board a large portion of the revenue comes from local taxes and there should not be a cash flow problem. She does not foresee the need to dip into the fund balance or take out loans to cover costs.

The next finance committee meeting will be held Sept. 6 immediately following the operations committee meeting. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.