The Beaufort County Board of Education Finance Committee met to review the district's monthly budget and new transparency analytics, unanimously recommended a revision to the district's minority/women business utilization plan to the full board and heard staff updates on the annual audit and a recent bond refunding that staff said saved about $1,600,000.

The committee heard the Board monthly budget report for the period year-to-date as of Oct. 2, 2025, during which presenters reported that overall board spending stands at 17.4 percent of the annual budget. Finance staff also presented a new transparency analytics executive summary comparing August 2025 to August 2024 that highlights top expenditure categories, programs and vendors.

Committee members pressed for training and a regular, rotating “deep dive” of one expenditure category each month so members can follow line-by-line details. Finance staff said the transparency package includes linked, multi-year supporting documents and that the district will provide guidance to board members on how to drill down into the underlying schedules and vendor detail.

The committee took one formal recommendation vote: it moved that the finance committee recommend to the full Board of Education revisions to administrative rule OS-13-R-2, the Minority Women Business Utilization Plan. The committee’s motion to forward the revisions to the full board was seconded and passed unanimously. Finance staff told the committee the change clarifies that the plan will remain approved unless material revisions are proposed and that the plan continues to comply with the procurement requirements in the South Carolina Code (cited in the report as SC Code 11-35-5240).

Separately, the chief financial officer updated the committee on the district’s annual close and audit schedule. Staff reported that most financial statements and trial balances had been delivered to auditors, that auditors’ fieldwork would occur in the coming weeks, and that the district expects a draft of the annual comprehensive financial report in early November and final distribution by Dec. 1.

Finance staff also reported that the district completed a refunding of its 2015 series B bonds. Staff said the district sold the refunding bonds Sept. 8 and closed the transaction Oct. 1; the purchaser was KeyBank Capital Markets. The transaction lowered the interest rate by about 1.2 percentage points (from roughly 3.6% to roughly 2.4%, as reported to the committee) and generated approximately $1,600,000 in debt-service savings. Staff said the district did not need a new credit rating for the refunding and that the district maintained its ratings with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

Committee members and staff also reviewed the newly completed fiscal year 2025–26 budget book, which staff said is posted on the district website and was submitted to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the budget presentation award. Staff noted the book is hyperlinked and contains school-by-school budget and enrollment pages and a one-page comparative spreadsheet intended to help board members compare schools and staffing costs quickly.

Votes at a glance
- Approval of meeting agenda: passed (committee vote recorded as 2–0 in the meeting record). No mover/second names were recorded on the public transcript for that specific vote.
- Approval of Finance Committee minutes, Sept. 18, 2025: passed (committee vote recorded as 2–0 in the meeting record). No mover/second names were recorded on the public transcript for that specific vote.
- Recommendation to full board to approve revisions to OS-13-R-2 (Minority Women Business Utilization Plan): motion read on the record, seconded by Miss Gordon, passed unanimously by the committee; committee forwarded the recommendation to the full board for final approval.

What committee members asked for and next steps
Committee members asked for a short training/reference document and a rotating monthly item for detailed review so that each meeting includes a one-line-item, drill-down demonstration (examples offered included utilities, vendor spend or a major supplier). Staff agreed to provide drill-down guidance and to continue posting the full supporting schedules (vendors, fixed-asset listings, program-level expenditures) with the transparency package.

The CFO said auditors have requested final schedules (fixed assets, compensated absences under GASB guidance) and that staff expect an audit draft in early November and final documents on the district website by Dec. 1. For the bond refunding, staff said attorneys and financial advisers are handling the closing paperwork and escrow arrangements.

The committee's discussion and votes were procedural and administrative; no new taxes or program-level funding changes were approved at the committee level during the meeting.