West Valley School District outlines budget timeline as finance director says half of revenue still unknown

Sheila Lillard, the district's director of finance, told the West Valley School District Board of Directors on June 24 that the district has about half of its revenue known while it waits for grant allocations and other state and federal templates ahead of the first reading of next year's budget in July.

"My name is Sheila Lillard, director of finance. I'll be going over the budget process," Lillard said as she began a step-by-step explanation of how the district prepares its budget and why some figures remain unsettled.

Lillard said the district begins its budget timeline in February, copies and cleans a provisional database in the district's budgeting software, updates staffing and account codes, and awaits state template releases that drive enrollment- and assessed-value-based revenue projections. She said roughly half the revenue picture is in place now; the rest depends on grant allocations that have not yet been finalized.

"I have about half the revenue right now that I know. Another half I don't know yet," she said, adding that some grant allocations are awarded or applied for later in the year and that federal funds typically flow through state agencies before reaching districts.

The board heard that the district must also factor in debt-service schedules from its bond program, capital-project plans and transportation-fund depreciation when preparing fund-by-fund budgets. Lillard described the expenditure side as dominated by salaries and benefits, which account for roughly 80 to 85 percent of general-fund spending and therefore require extensive review and manual cleanup in the budget database.

Lillard gave a specific example of uncertainty: a special services federal grant she described as "about 1,200,000.0," for which staffing is the primary cost and the final allocation remains unclear. To manage the unknowns, she said staff build capacity into the draft budget and run comparison reports before submitting materials to the Educational Service District (ESD) for review.

Board members asked about timing and the effect of reimbursements. Lillard and other staff explained that some grants operate on a reimbursement basis: districts spend funds first and submit claims later, sometimes not receiving payments until November. That timing can require drawing on fund balance in the early months of the fiscal year.

"When the new grants come in, we have to spend it to get it. And a lot of times, they're not even approved until November," Lillard said, explaining why the district may spend from fund balance in September and October and be reimbursed months later.

The board also discussed the district's four-year forecast. Lillard called multi-year projections challenging, saying that while some enterprise funds such as the transportation vehicle fund are relatively straightforward (driven by fleet depreciation and bus purchases), the general fund is "the behemoth" and sensitive to enrollment trends and inflation.

Superintendent Doctor Finch reminded the board of next steps: a presentation by the long-range facilities committee and a representative from DA Davidson at the board's first July meeting to discuss possible defeasance and bond costs, the first reading of the budget at the second July meeting, and a second reading and adoption in August.

The board did not take final budget votes on June 24; Lillard's presentation was an overview and question-and-answer session to prepare the board for the scheduled readings and certification process later this summer.