Board approves FY25 final budget and hears financial position report; staff projects $27 million carryover through June

The Christina School District Board of Education on Feb. 11 approved the district’s financial position report and the FY25 final budget, each on 6–1 votes.

Chief Business Officer Robert Vaca presented the financial position report and told the board the district projects an ending balance of about $27,000,001.87 on June 30, which staff said is intended to carry the district through the summer months until tax receipts resume in October. Vaca emphasized that the district’s monthly payroll is roughly $6 million, meaning four months’ payroll would total about $24 million.

During the budget presentation, staff reviewed significant line items, including state salary draws (noted as down modestly due to fewer units), charter school billing (reported rising from roughly $37 million in FY24 to about $43 million in FY25) and the district’s decision to allocate consolidated grant opportunity funds to building-level budgets rather than holding them at the district level.

Vaca described the $27 million ending balance as a combination of current-year receipts and surplus carried forward: “Of the 27,000,000, 14,000,000 of that's coming from surplus,” he said, and characterized the position as normal cash-management rather than a crisis.

Board member Michael Moyack moved to accept the financial position report and later moved approval of the FY25 final budget; both motions were seconded by Douglas Manley. After the budget presentation, Moyack moved approval of the final budget and the board adopted it 6–1.

Vaca and other presenters also explained charter billing methodology changes and adjustments to how needs-based tuition and intensive/complex student funding are recognized. The district will continue monthly and committee-level reporting on receipts and will revisit referendum timing in the fall/winter of 2025 if needed.