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School board reviews purchase orders, contracts and legal-services reporting during finance consent
Summary
During a Sept. 9 school board workshop, finance staff answered questions about purchase orders, multi‑year contracts and outside legal services; board members directed staff to provide periodic breakout reporting on legal and scholarship costs.
Flagler County School Board members questioned several finance consent items on Sept. 9, pressing staff for detail about high early‑year spending in charter partner Imagine and about how the district manages multi‑year contracts and outside counsel. Finance director Miss Womack and other staff answered questions and said they would supply additional detail and periodic reports as requested.
Board members asked why Imagine’s summer‑program line showed roughly 48 percent spent for July. “That is most likely the lease on their building. That is their biggest cost is their lease,” Miss Womack said, and she offered to contact the regional finance director for a line‑by‑line explanation.
The board also discussed several purchase orders over $10,000. Staff said payments to a co‑owned facility are quarterly shares of utilities, maintenance and insurance. Board members sought clarity on a Brown & Brown Insurance Services purchase order that lists a July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026 term; finance staff said the PO covers only the invoiced portion to date and that the district plans a formal competitive bid in the fall. “This PO represents only 6 months of the year. It’s not a full year,” staff said.
Members asked about contractor CrewCut and the district’s use of multi‑vendor contracts. Staff said CrewCut is one of several general contractors hired through an Invitation to Bid (ITB) done in 2022 with a base three‑year term and two one‑year extensions (through March 20, 2027 if all options are exercised). Extensions are optional and must be mutually agreed upon.
Board members pressed for more transparency on outside legal spending. Staff explained that several line items are purchase orders that encumber expected work by outside counsel and are not final payments. For example, a PO of approximately $30,000 was described as an estimate for collective‑bargaining negotiation services. Finance staff and the superintendent said they would continue to provide breakout reporting on legal expenses and on the Family Empowerment Scholarship numbers to give the board oversight for budgeting and long‑range planning.
The board adopted the meeting agenda at the start of the workshop; Derek Barr moved to adopt, Jamie Reddy seconded, and the motion passed.
What’s next: Staff will follow up with detailed line‑item explanations for the Imagine report and provide the board with periodic breakout reports on outside legal costs and scholarship figures as requested.
