INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — More than $3.4 million was shaved from the school district's general fund by holding off on buying new school buses, paying for some positions with technology money and cutting three curriculum positions, Superintendent Mark Rendell told the School Board.

"We also are not done," he said Tuesday. "I have not reviewed all department budgets yet, and will do so in the coming days. I am confident these reviews will yield some additional savings."

Schools would be unaffected by the cuts and adjustments, Rendell said. But board members still were concerned, particularly for 22 employees whose salaries are being paid from the district's technology budget instead of from the general fund, which pays for most other district positions.

"If I were one of those people, I would be more worried than I was two months ago," said board member Mara Schiff said.

Those positions are not in jeopardy of being eliminated, Rendell said.

Moving a position to a non-recurring fund is a concern, said board Chairwoman Laura Zorc.

Moving the positions to a different fund saves the district $1.39 million. It is just one way Rendell plans to boost the district's reserves. School Board policy requires at least 5 percent of the district's general fund is put in a reserve or savings account. As of last month, the reserve had fallen to about 4.4 percent, Rendell told the board.

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Faced with the possibility of additional cuts, board members wondered Tuesday whether they should spend the money on students rather than build up such a high reserve. Neighboring districts save about 3 or 4 percent of their general fund budget, School Board member Tiffany Justice said. The state Department of Education requires districts save about 3 percent of their budget.

Problems with the district's reserve materialized last summer, when analysis showed a $2.3 million discrepancy in the budget. Rendell suspended Chief Financial Officer Carter Morrison while he investigated the district's budgeting. Morrison resigned in December.

Board members expressed regret the district's financial issues went unnoticed before action was taken.

"It's just an unfortunate situation," said board member Jacqueline Rosario.