Members of the state-appointed Financial Planning and Supervision Commission said it will take three to five years before the effects of Monroe Schools’ passed levy will be seen.

Voters approved a 7.05-mill emergency operating tax levy earlier this month that will generate $2.5 million per year over the next five years, but commission member Jim Barnes cautioned the levy money won’t immediately bail the district out of its financial troubles.

“It’s going to take all of five years,” Barnes said. “Our cash flow is not going to be such that we’re not going to see a positive cash flow for about two years yet, because of the money we owe the state. It looks like, in year three, we’ll start to see the results of the levy.”

Monroe fell into fiscal emergency in May, and had to borrow $2.2 million from the state in order to pay off its operating debt. They school also faces a $3.1 million bond retirement debt.

Because the levy passed, the district is “right on target” toward obtaining fiscal recovery, Barnes said. The district’s current loan repayments to the state are slightly more than $100,000 per month.

“There may have been a misconception that, once the levy passed, all would be normal. It took us several years to get where we are, it’ll take several years to get us back out,” Barnes said.

Fellow commission member Kelly Myers said it was nice to have a quicker paced meeting for a change.

“That’s always a good thing,” she said. “The board talked very positively about when we could release the school (to govern itself). I think we’re still going to be into it for at least another year for monitoring purposes. I think the school board is doing a good job. They’re doing what they need to do, and I think passing the levy was a necessity that had to happen in order to keep the school running the way it needed to be.

“We were able to discuss their financial outlook in a more positive manner than previous to the election,” Roger Hardin, chairman of the commission, said about Monday’s meeting.

“We’re headed in the right direction. It’ll just take us some time to get all the way back,” Myers said.

The next scheduled Financial Planning and Supervision Commission meeting is 4 p.m. Jan. 9.