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Board approves intercategory budget transfers after district explains Oracle-related carryovers
Summary
The board approved two intercategory budget transfers — fiscal year 2025 adjustments and a revised FY2026 carryforward request — after district finance staff said Oracle Cloud procurement processing required some open purchase orders and committed blueprint funds to be carried into the next fiscal year.
Board members voted unanimously to approve two intercategory budget transfer requests after district finance staff outlined a revised FY2026 carryforward request and explained why some FY2025 commitments must be reentered under the district’s new Oracle Cloud purchase‑order procedures.
District finance chief Karen Acton told the board the original FY2026 request presented in September was $12.5 million; county guidance then narrowed the ask to $5.8 million for projects that meet the county’s definition of carryover (unfinished projects or one‑time funding). Acton said the revision reflects Oracle’s rule that purchase orders open and not fully liquidated on June 30 are canceled in the prior fiscal year and must be reentered in the current year unless they meet the county’s carryforward guidance.
Acton outlined the largest categories driving the $5.8 million revised request: roughly $5.2 million in open purchase orders (ERP/Oracle‑related change orders, payroll and Redwood upgrades, an Oracle interface and an unfinished server/network upgrade), $569,279 in committed community schools funds and $65,351 for a workforce development blueprint balance. She also listed instructional-supply and maintenance purchase orders, library purchases and unfinished capital projects that would be carried forward.
Why it matters: Acton said the district’s unaudited FY2025 fund balance reflected an approximately $20 million use of unassigned fund balance during FY2025 and warned that continuing to rely on fund balance could exhaust reserves. "We have spent about $20,000,000 of our unassigned fund balance in fiscal year 2025," Acton said. She and board members discussed the need to order and receive goods earlier in the fiscal year to avoid future carryovers under Oracle’s rules.
FY2025 intercategory adjustments: Separately, the board approved a FY2025 intercategory transfer that reallocated roughly $3.2 million among operating categories. Acton said the adjustments were primarily payroll timing and reclassifications among administration, transportation and plant operations rather than overspending in those categories.
Board action: The board approved the FY2025 transfer and the FY2026 amended request in separate motions. Vice Chair Kramer moved the FY2025 motion (seconded by Board Member Tamisha Thomas); both votes were recorded as unanimous. The FY2026 transfer was moved by Board Member Butler Washington, seconded by Thomas, and also carried unanimously. Acton and Chief Financial Officer Sherry Fisher‑Diaz answered members’ questions on payroll accounting, potential options for reallocating unspent monies and the county’s expectation that the district eliminate end‑of‑year encumbrances that do not meet the county’s criteria.
Next steps and constraints: Finance staff told the board they will retrain principals and department leads to plan purchases earlier in the fiscal year and that some end‑of‑year purchase orders may need to roll into the next fiscal year’s budget if goods are not received by June 30. Board members asked about options for reallocating unused school funds; district staff said they will continue to monitor outstanding encumbrances and may present options for targeted reallocation in future budget briefings.
