By Sarah Kirchner, AlbertLeaTribune.com

The Albert Lea school board Thursday morning debated the issue of transferring money from the capital fund to the operating fund to cover any budget shortfalls in the coming school year.

&8220;It comes down to, what kind of referendums do you think you can pass in the future. I think that&8217;s something all districts are struggling with right now,&8221; said school board Chairman Ken Petersen.

The Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty last week added to the K-12 finance bill the option for school districts to transfer up to $51 per pupil unit &8212; which is weighted based on the grade since some ages cost more to educate than others &8212; from a capital fund to an operating fund to cover any budget issues created by insufficient funding.

The Albert Lea School District could transfer up to $190,000 in one-time money for the 2008-09 budget.

The school board and Director of Facilities and Transportation Bruce Olson went over possible projects that could be cut from the 2008-09 capital budget in order to move funds to the operating budget.

A final decision will be made at the Monday school board meeting. If the funds are transferred the money would be banked for future years where a budget shortfall is expected, said Petersen.

Superintendent David Prescott said he thinks many other school districts facing dire financial situations will take advantage of the available transfers, and &8220;it will be interesting to see how people will deal with that.&8221;

&8220;Is it a good idea to do? That&8217;s questionable,&8221; he continued.

Olson has a five-year capital facilities plan that goes out to the 2011-12 school year. The 2008-09 school year has $614,000 budgeted for various projects, but Olson said $100,000 in projects could be postponed.

&8220;There are things on the list that have been postponed for many years already,&8221; said Prescott.

&8220;It&8217;s probably not a very good idea to take advantage of the legislation we&8217;ve been given the privilege to take advantage of.&8221;

Projects are divided up by facility: Hammer Field, Brookside Education Center, all the elementary schools, Southwest Middle School and Albert Lea High School.

&8220;I just struggle with putting projects off,&8221; said Vice Chairman Bill Villarreal. &8220;It&8217;s going to cost us the more we put it out there.&8221;

Olson said $27,500 could be saved from the Hammer Field budget by postponing track maintenance &8212; which he said is still in good shape right now &8212; and not painting the light poles.

Some money could be pulled from the parking lot funds, but Olson said the milling and grinding that is bid out is a quick fix that could last for years.

At Brookside Education Center, the design bid for a new elevator and sealing of the elevator shaft could be postponed for $30,000. However, Olson said the district should move money from elsewhere to that designation because the district has until 2012 to install new elevators.

Window covers at Brookside could also be held until later years.

Halverson Elementary School could have work on the court side windows postponed, saving $15,000. Work on a handicap-accessible sink, bathroom stalls and an air drier for the thermostat could be postponed, but Olson said he doesn&8217;t recommend it.

Projects at Hawthorne Elementary School that could be postponed are work on bathroom stalls, installing the air drier for the thermostat and work on steam traps and valves. This would total $18,000.

Olson said he did not see any projects at Lakeview or Sibley elementary schools that could be held because work on the Sibley roof and the Lakeview parking lot and elevator are too important.

At Southwest, the only project that could be held for a year or two is the wrestling room ventilation system, he said, but that is a mold issue so it may not be the safest move. That project would free up $4,000.

Olson said he would like to see the auditorium seats be finished with the $6,000 designated for the project.

At the high school, he said replacements for a set of double doors for receiving and a roll-up door at the shop could be postponed and free up $5,500.

All those projects add up to $100,000, and Olson said if the board wants to free up more money the Halverson parking lot could go another year unfixed for $50,000.

Olson said if the projects are postponed that means adding expenses to future years, and the 2009-10 school year budget is already $76,000 over.

&8220;Whatever we take from the capital budget just slides over to the next year that we&8217;re already taking money from,&8221; he said.

In the 2009-10 school year, the capital budget could already be strapped for cash because of elevator and roof work, Olson said.

&8220;Really we should be every year taking some of our capital money and setting it aside for some of our huge projects,&8221; said Director of Finance and Operations Larry Kellogg.

The legislation was created so districts who were not able to pass an operating levy could have money available.

&8220;Fortunately ours did pass so we have that money there. It will help, but it&8217;s not going to carry us forever,&8221; Kellogg said.

Olson said the district&8217;s buildings are in good shape and the district and taxpayers should feel proud if the facilities.