Here is the letter from HoCo BOE to the county executive. HCPSS saved around 15 million dollars last year. The board wanted to ask the county approval to use this 15 million dollars to pay down the existing 39 million health fund deficit.

If HCPSS uses this 15 million dollars for FY 2021 recurring operating budget , HCPSS will have an ever growing deficit in 2022. First, the 39 million health fund deficit will not decrease. Second that 15 million dollars will become a deficit, or 27 million dollars if the 12 million dollars from FY 2019-2020 deficit is included again. Note in FY 2019-2002, HCPSS used a one time balance to fund the recurring budget. Now immediately coming into this FY 2021 budget cycle, we have an existing 12 million deficit already, on top of the 39 million health fund deficit.

This is exactly one of many reasons that we got 50 million dollars health fund deficit before, using one time fund to pay recurring cost. We should not repeat old mistakes again.