Liberty Elementary board approves proposed FY 2025–26 budget, schedules adoption vote

The Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board voted 5yes, 0no on June 16 to approve the districtproposed FY 202526 2026 annual expenditure budget, a step school leaders said is required by state law before the July adoption deadline.

The board approved the proposed budget after a staff presentation by Crystal Mosier and Rebecca Williams that outlined revenue and expenditure assumptions, updated student counts and the changes from the May revision. "A budget proposal has to come before the board sometime prior to July 5," Mosier said, noting the district must upload the proposal to the Arizona Department of Education and publish it on the district website before the adoption hearing.

Why it matters: The proposed budget sets the district's spending ceiling for the coming fiscal year and determines how administrators will allocate limited resources, including maintenance and operations (M&O), capital projects, and carryforward reserves. Board members and staff used the presentation to flag several one-time and timing-dependent items that could change the adopted numbers at the December revision.

Key details

- The proposal uses a per-student base support level of $5,113 and the district's current average daily membership figure used for planning. Staff emphasized they did not add speculative student growth to FY26 projections and will capture changes in December and May budget revisions.

- Mosier and Williams told the board some expected state funds were not included in the proposed budget because the legislature had not finalized those sources: one-time DAA (district additional assistance), free-and-reduced-price-lunch supplemental funding and what staff called "Prop 123" money. If those revenues arrive, they would be considered at later budget revisions.

- Staff reported a projected carryforward of roughly $500,000 in the proposed budget and said the district will continue to transfer some capital dollars into M&O to cover immediate needs. That transfer and the size of carryforward prompted board discussion about whether the district should preserve more capital reserves or rely on DAA transfers.

Board discussion and concerns

Board members asked for more clarity about several items: the portion of custodial and operations costs proposed to be paid from enterprise or special funds (civic center and food services), the district's approach to site-level budgets and transparency for principals, and how high-cost special education placements are reflected in the figures.

Board member Zimmerman asked whether custodial positions moved from M&O to other funds were fully accounted for in the proposed numbers. "If the board removed 5 positions from M&O, but it's not reflected here, then my concern is we're not going to be able to do that," Zimmerman said.

Staff responded that some reassignments would be partial (portions of salaries moved to civic center or other cash-controlled funds) and that cash-controlled funds can be adjusted in subsequent revisions once actual revenues are known.

Votes at a glance (formal actions recorded during the meeting)

- Approval: Regular agenda — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent agenda as amended (exceptions listed) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent item 5.3 (personnel action / principal hire and included vacation payout) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent item 5.13 (out-of-state travel to Synergy Connect 2025; travel covered as part of Synergy subscription) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent item 5.14 (hire two summer hourly technology support assistants at $15.12/hour) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent item 5.15 (salary schedule revision: move one stipend from SLP lead to assistant technology lead; limited to one of each position) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Consent item 5.17 (contract amendment to cross-reference the trust policy manual; not-to-exceed $2,500) — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: FY 202526 2026 Proposed Annual Budget — outcome: approved (5 yes, 0 no) - Acceptance: Annual financial audit report, FY 202324 — outcome: accepted (5 yes, 0 no) - Approval: Governing board meeting schedule for 202526 2026 (Option 2: regular meeting + an additional scheduled special/work session each month) — outcome: approved (3 yes, 2 no). Vote record: Board member Schmidt: Nay; Board member Zimmerman: Nay; Vice President Kenyon: Aye; Board member Schencioni: Aye; President Michael Todd: Aye.

What happens next

By statute the district must adopt a final budget by the mid-July deadline; staff said the next formal step is a public adoption hearing and adoption vote in July. The board's December revision will be the district's next opportunity to update ADM, include any one-time state revenues that arrive, and adjust carryforward and capital-transfer assumptions.

Provenance

- topicintro: "presenting staff liaisons will be Crystal Mosier and Rebecca Williams." (transcript time 5722.765) - topfinish: "We have a motion to approve FY 202526 2026 proposed annual school district expenditure budget." (transcript time 10066.26)

Speakers (attributed in this article)

- Michael Todd, Governing Board President - Vice President Kenyon, Governing Board Vice President - Board member Schmidt, Governing Board member - Board member Zimmerman, Governing Board member - Board member Schencioni, Governing Board member - Dr. Stephanie Mahorn, Superintendent (presented attendance updates earlier in the meeting) - Crystal Mosier, district staff (budget presentation) - Rebecca Williams, district staff (budget presentation)

Topics: Budget; school finance; district operations; carryforward; capital transfers

Searchable tags: budget, ADM, carryforward, capital-transfer, special-education, FY26, Liberty Elementary

Proper_names: [{"name":"Liberty Elementary School District","type":"organization"},{"name":"Arizona Department of Education","type":"agency"},{"name":"Prop 123","type":"other"}]

Clarifying details: [{"category":"vacation payout","detail":"Board discussion identified a large vacation payout in personnel items, described in public comments as a rough figure of about $150,000","value":"about 150000","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Board member Zimmerman"},{"category":"per-student base level","detail":"Budget uses a base support level of $5,113 per ADM","value":"5113","units":"USD"},{"category":"district additional assistance (DAA) carry forward","detail":"Proposed FY26 carryforward projection roughly $500,000; staff noted prior-year carryforward exceeded $1,000,000","value":"500000","units":"USD","approximate":true}]

Meeting_context: {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":18,"duration_minutes":330,"items_count":20},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2025-05","note":"May budget revisions reviewed; staff used earlier ADM estimates"},{"date":"2025-12","note":"December revision expected to capture updated ADM and any one-time state funding"}]}

Salience: {"overall":0.85,"overall_justification":"Adopting a proposed budget sets the districtspending ceiling and frames staffing, programs, and carryforward policy; the board voted to proceed to adoption with staff cautions on one-time revenue assumptions.","impact_scope":"local","impact_scope_justification":"Budget affects district operations and all students in the Liberty Elementary School District.","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Budget adoption is legally required and directly affects services and staffing.","legal_significance":0.70,"legal_significance_justification":"State deadlines and reporting requirements govern the process.","budgetary_significance":0.90,"budgetary_significance_justification":"Decisions involve millions in revenue control limit, capital and M&O allocations."}

Engagement_forecast: {"newsworthiness":{"local":0.85,"regional":0.20,"national":0.05,"justification":"High local importance; limited broader interest."},"notify_recommendation":{"audience":"city","reason":"Budget adoption affects local taxpayers, schools and staff."},"predicted_read_time_minutes":3.5}

Provenance_transcript_segments:[{"block_id":"5722.765","local_start":0,"local_end":77,"evidence_excerpt":"presenting staff liaisons will be Crystal Mosier and Rebecca Williams." ,"reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"10066.26","local_start":0,"local_end":83,"evidence_excerpt":"Mister president, motion to approve the fiscal year 20 25 20 26 proposed annual school district expenditure budget." ,"reason_code":"topicfinish"}]