With an advance of $157,000 on its state apportionment and several grants that have come through, the South Whidbey School district expects to have positive cash flow by March 31.

Business manager Ben Thomas reported at Monday night’s school board meeting that in addition to the advance on state funds, several grants totaling $239,000 and levy proceeds of $25,000 will have the district $2,612 on the positive side by the end of the month.

Also helping to get the district out of the red is $40,000 in student food service fees.

For the month of February, the district was overdrawn on its cash account.

To shore up the the cash account, the district borrowed $84,000 from its transportation fund and $31,000 for the capital projects fund. But district and board members discovered that borrowing from the transportation fund violated state law.

President Helen Price Johnson acknowledged that the district had been in error.

“When we realized those funds were not available, we moved to correct the situation,” she said. “Everyone was working above board to follow procedures.”

The district discovered it was out of compliance on the matter on March 12, according to Thomas.

“As soon as we discovered the error, the district acted with due diligence and informed the state auditor’s office, Island County Treasurer and the Northwest Education Service District,” he said.

The loan with interest will be paid back into the fund from the state apportionment advance and grants.

The district receives about $1.1 million in state apportionment funds every month. The district’s total budget is $16.2 million, about 80 percent of which goes to salaries.