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State board requires monthly itemized reporting for USDB $3 million contingency fund
Summary
The Utah State Board of Education voted to require the superintendent to provide itemized expenditure lists for every $500,000 spent from a $3 million contingency allocation to USDB, to be included in the monthly budget report.
The Utah State Board of Education voted to require the superintendent to provide an itemized list of expenditures each time USDB spends $500,000 from a $3,000,000 contingency fund, to be included in the monthly budget report.
Board member Carrie said the change was intended to add "a layer of accountability" after the board previously approved the allocation. "This is not about trust, but it's about the fiduciary duty we have as a board," she said during debate on a motion to reconsider the original allocation.
The board first voted 13 in favor and 2 opposed to reconsider the earlier motion to allocate the funds so members could add reporting requirements; the members recorded in opposition to the reconsideration vote were Member Riehl and Member Lear. After discussion with state officials about how best to provide the information, the board approved the reporting requirement unanimously (14 in favor; Chair Heimas absent).
Deputy Superintendent Scott Jones and Superintendent Hart told the board the reporting could be folded into the regular monthly budget update. Jones said the monthly update could "add that level of specificity" and designate expenditures as coming from the unallocated contingency bucket. Superintendent Hart said he had "no problem" with the concept but sought clarity on the expected level of detail.
The adopted requirement directs staff to provide an itemized list of expenditures to be reviewed by the board for each $500,000 that USDB spends from the $3,000,000 contingency fund, and to provide that information at the time of the monthly budget report.
The board described the action as an accountability measure rather than an attempt to rescind the funding. Member Carrie introduced the reconsideration motion and the reporting motion; the board then approved the reporting requirement by roll call.
Implementation details about how the itemized lists will be formatted were discussed but not prescribed in the motion: Jones said it would be "its own program" or line item within the budget, and confirmed staff could produce the requested itemization. The board did not specify an end date for the additional reporting requirement in the motion.
