Just in time for Halloween, the board of education of Pueblo City Schools (D60) received some frightening budgetary news Tuesday.

What began with a negotiation update on the district's various employee groups evolved into a discussion on the financial impact ($1.2 million to $1.5 million) of the cadre of agreements, which later in the meeting were unanimously approved.

That figure -- coupled with the approximately $3.2 million the district has already committed to fund retroactive cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits for its teachers and teacher assistants -- then precipitated an intense and lengthy dialogue on finances.

With David Horner, D60's chief financial officer, serving as the reluctant bearer of the grim news.

Horner presented to the board a projection of the effect these recurring expenses are going to have on an already stressed budget.

From a reserve balance of just under $13 million, or 11.1 percent of the budget, recurring financial commitments could draw down total reserves to as low as $1.8 million (1.61 percent) by the 2019-20 school year.

Compounding this precarious situation is the fact that a recent head count shows D60 to be down as many as 500 students from the previous year. If that count remains as is, the district could be looking at millions less in state funding, including $750,000 this year alone.

Unfortunately, the review of reserves was but part of the unpleasantness.

Turning his attention to D60's capital account, Horner alerted the board to emergency repairs on the district's aging facilities that soon will have to be undertaken.

These include $950,000 already committed for the first phase of electrical repairs at East High School, with the price tag for the entire project a possible $3 million; $300,000 for an air handler at Centennial High School; $300,000 for boiler replacement at South High School; and $750,000 for electrical repairs at Corwin International Magnet School.

Should the work at East not be conducted, it's possible the school's certificate of occupancy could be pulled and the building closed.

The total cost of these emergency repairs, $2.3 million, would leave the balance of the capital fund's emergency reserves at just $464,736.

Not yet factored in, the board learned, are $1.7 million in upcoming critical repairs, including extensive repairs on Central High School's swimming pool, a partial roof replacement at Corwin and district-wide heating work, all planned for spring.

This precarious state of affairs led Horner to say, "I'm questioning whether we need to start looking at credit lines and get those approved, because if we have another major electrical -- South is very similar to East -- do I need to start having a backup plan to take care of our critical pieces?"

Disheartening as it is, the sooner the information presented by Horner is disseminated to internal stakeholders and community members, "The better off we will be in terms of painting the picture in terms of reality," said board member Frank Latino, who encouraged sharing the information with teachers and teacher assistants to ensure all entities are on the same page.

In his comments, board member Bobby Gonzales more directly addressed educators.

"We've done all that," Gonzales said of drawing on reserves to pay for teacher salary increases. "There have been raises two years in a row. I don't know if they're from a different planet, but we have tried to accommodate our teachers with the monies we have."

Use of reserves aside, Board Vice President Barb Clementi said that, going forward, as much as $3 million -- barring a drop in enrollment and additional critical repairs -- will have to be pared from the general fund to accommodate commitments.

"And I don't know where we're going to find it," Clementi said. "We have a lot of work to do," including the restoring of dwindling reserves.

"With 85 percent of the budget being personnel, unfortunately that's the only place there is (to cut)," Clementi added.

Board President Phyllis Sanchez, who has continually stressed the importance of reserves and not using those funds for recurring expenses, said, "It's very hard for me to look at going from healthy reserves to the possibility of having nothing in two years.

"This is extremely, extremely critical -- the financial health of this school district."

Although not a cure-all, both a mill levy override and bond issue -- pending voter approval -- were again touted as critically needed measures.

And if it couldn't get worse, a report from Bob Lawson, D60's executive director of facilities, brought to light the fact that the district needs more than $500 million to fully renovate its aging facilities.

That news did not sit well with Gonzales, who again referenced the impasse with educators in his impassioned address.

"I will not be irresponsible with taxpayers' money. If it's not there, it's not there. We've been called a lot of things -- idiots, dysfunctional, whatever you want to call it -- because we don't love our teachers.

"I'm tired of hearing that. Tired. I was an educator for 33 years. People got to come together, because this is real. This is real."

Gonzales added that while the board has continually asked educators to discuss with the district the financial state of affairs, "That never gets printed. We just get bashed, and it's getting old. I've got people that don't talk to me anymore because they just don't think I respect them because I can't give them what they want.

"This board isn't hiding money, keeping it from our teachers."

In light of the fact that 23 of the district's 32 schools are in the critical stages as far as condition, Latino assessed the scenario as "a nightmare, a powder keg ready to blow at any time." He again stressed the urgent need to make the entire community aware of the crisis-level situation.

"This is not just a school district problem," Latino said. "It's a Pueblo problem."

jpompia@chieftain.com