CFO: district fund balance improving; school district adds excess liability coverage as board seeks more financial transparency

Christy Woodard, the district’s chief financial officer, gave the monthly financial report at the Oct. 27 meeting and reported that estimated ending fund balances were improving as the district closed the 2024–25 fiscal year. Woodard said the estimated 2024–25 ending general fund balance is $876,944. The preliminary 2025–26 estimate was reported at $314,750, below the district’s budgeted ending fund balance (reported in the packet as $809,000). Woodard said staff are discussing steps to improve that projection.

Woodard also briefed the board about liability insurance for claims of sexual abuse and molestation. She said the district’s insurance placement changed this year: regular coverage of roughly $2,000,000 remained in place, and the district obtained excess coverage that Woodard reported adds $3,000,000 in capacity from an excess provider and that the total coverage level now is $6,000,000 (as presented). Woodard said the additional premium cost to secure the excess layer is $240,000 and that the coverage is being applied retroactively to July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. She said the district budgeted for a significant increase in insurance costs earlier in the year when the market signaled higher premiums.

The board spent significant time discussing financial oversight and transparency. One director requested detailed accounting on teaching-and-learning grants and travel and training expenditures for the previous year, a full accounting of district-issued credit cards and reconciling reports, and clarity about which roles those grant funds supported. Board discussion touched on the limits of performing a forensic audit because of cost; some directors suggested targeted reporting such as 12 months of statements or specific reconciliation reports to answer teacher concerns. One board member said teachers had reported funds missing from special-education accounts and other school-level accounts; district staff and other directors stressed that some transfers or internal account moves can cause confusion and that staff are working on better line-item tracking.

Directors and the superintendent discussed special-education staffing and funding. A director said special-education enrollment rose substantially over five years (the director cited a 20% increase) while staffing had not kept pace. Board members discussed maintenance-of-effort (MOE) rules that affect how federal and state special-education funds can be used and how staffing decisions interact with funding formulas.

Board members also discussed the district’s fund-balance policy (DBDB). The district’s policy directs the superintendent to manage the budget to maintain at least a 5% ending general fund balance; the budget the board adopted for 2025–26 was adopted with a 2% ending fund balance. Board members asked whether the board should temporarily amend policy, publicly acknowledge the current adopted budget level, or set a goal to return to a 5% balance. The superintendent’s office recommended acknowledging the adopted budget and making transparency about goals for improving reserves a priority while staff balance competing budget pressures.

Other policy items discussed on first or second reading included student-transportation policy EEA (staff proposed aligning the district’s grade spans by defining elementary as K–5 and secondary as 6–12 to match district practice) and the revised cell-phone policy (first read). Directors also raised the coordination of teaching-and-learning professional development and whether some travel or trainings could be more directly tied to staffing coverage in classrooms.

No new, board-adopted budget actions were taken at the meeting. Several directors asked staff to provide additional financial detail in follow-up reports, including grant breakdowns, credit-card reconciliation records and clearer line-item budgets for departments so the board and the public can see how funds were allocated and whether transfers occurred.

The board also discussed a previously announced plan to open an application period to fill a board vacancy (see separate item).