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Katy ISD finance staff report underspending; board hears plan to replace aging white fleet using bond interest
Summary
CFO Chris Smith presented the March 2025 financial report showing underspending across the district and identified about $7.6 million in miscellaneous capital project interest available; staff proposed spending roughly $1.8 million to replace aging white fleet and police vehicles, citing average vehicle age of 14.6 years and 111,000 miles.
Katy ISD financial staff reported Monday that district expenditures remain under budget for the fiscal year and highlighted a proposal to replace a backlog of aging white-fleet and police vehicles using interest earned on bond funds.
Chris Smith, the district's chief financial officer, told trustees the budget-to-date target was about 58 percent through the fiscal year and that most functions were within or below that rate. He pointed to a miscellaneous capital projects interest balance of about $7.6 million and said staff proposed using roughly $1.8 million of that sum to replace vehicles that average 14.6 years old and 111,000 miles.
"We're using that capital projects interest that I've mentioned at $7,600,000 as I went over the financial report," Smith said, adding that the proposed $1.8 million purchase would replace many of the highest-mileage, oldest vehicles. Smith said the district would purchase through purchasing cooperatives and, where possible, negotiate volume discounts with dealers, but cautioned supply-chain delays could push delivery to late in the calendar year.
Trustees asked procurement and fleet questions: one trustee noted a vehicle on the replacement list had only 47,000 miles and asked why it was slated for replacement; staff explained some lower-mileage units were being reallocated to other uses while higher-mileage vehicles are removed from service. Trustees also asked whether purchases would affect the general fund; Smith said the funding source is interest income on bond cash in the capital projects fund and would not require a general fund amendment.
Separately, staff presented May budget amendments described as direct functional offsets that, according to the director of budget and treasury, would not affect the general operating fund balance. Trustees also heard the March tax-collection report and other standard monthly financial detail.
No formal vote on the vehicle purchase or the budget amendments was recorded in the meeting transcript; staff indicated any required budget amendments tied to general-fund purchases would be brought to the board as needed.
