The School Board of the City of Norfolk received its monthly financial report for April and asked staff for more detail on budget transfers and the district's compensation plan ahead of final budget action in June.

Steve Jenkins, chief finance officer, told the board that general fund collections and available balances totaled about $377.7 million, or 79.5% of the $475 million general-fund budget, for activity recorded through April 30. Spending and encumbrances totaled about $382 million, or 80.4% of the annual budget. Jenkins said those spending levels are consistent with the prior two years at the same point.

Jenkins reported three budget transfers exceeding $50,000: a transfer from the preschool teachers budget to preschool employee benefits, a transfer of tuition payments for students with disabilities from summer program accounts to the regular term, and a transfer within transportation from contracted services for transporting students experiencing homelessness to fuel accounts. Jenkins said additional transfers may be required to cover fuel through June.

Board member Ms. Massey asked whether the change in transfer reporting reflected the new finance leadership; Jenkins answered that some transfers had been delayed in prior years and that this year several transfers were recorded earlier because account deficits required corrective entries.

Board members asked for clarification of the district's unexpended or available balance. Jenkins said the unexpended amount on the report was about $93 million, roughly just under 20% of the general-fund budget, and explained timing differences between accrual-based accounting and cash flow (for example, teacher pay accruals and delayed sales-tax receipts).

The board also discussed compensation under the proposed budget. Superintendent Dr. Sharon Birdsong said employees who are not at the top of their pay scale will receive a 4.5% increase; employees at the top of their scale will receive a cost-of-living adjustment presented as a 2.2% one-time bonus. A board member raised concerns that long-tenured employees at the top of their scales could be disadvantaged because the 2.2% payment may not be pensionable under VRS (Virginia Retirement System) rules; that point was raised as a concern for further review and not resolved during the meeting.

The board moved to adopt the monthly financial report subject to audit. The motion passed on a roll-call vote. Jenkins and other staff told the board that the audit and the final operating budget are scheduled for presentation at the board's June meeting.

Board members asked Jenkins and staff to provide details requested: itemized descriptions of large purchase-services charges in classroom instruction, documentation for the transfers greater than $50,000, and confirmation about whether the 2.2% payment for top-scale employees is treated as pensionable compensation. Staff said they will return with those details at the June meeting.