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District financial report: Gilbert Public Schools posts budget increases, new three-year school-safety grant
Summary
Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betts told the board the district's final revised budget increased after higher weighted student counts and a Department of Education district-assistance supplement; the district also received a new three-year school-safety grant averaging about $313,000 annually.
Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betts presented the districtmonthly financial report for the month ended April 30, 2025, to the Gilbert Unified District governing board on May 20.
Betts said the district realized an increase in maintenance-and-operations revenue of about $300,000 between budget revision 2 and revision 3, primarily because of additional weighted student counts. She said the Department of Education posted a one-time district additional assistance supplement that increased the budget by "just over $1,500,000," and that unrestricted capital was increased by the same amount.
On federal grants, Betts summarized ESEA Title programs: Title I and Title IV support at-risk students and Title II funds professional development; Title III is applied separately. She also said the AEA adult-education fund received an unexpected allocation of about $180,000 and that the fund is unusually allowing carryover into next year.
Betts highlighted a new school-safety program award that the district will receive for three years, expecting about $313,000 annually for two additional years after the current award year. She described changes to fingerprinting/IVP processes that have left a roughly $22,000 balance in an account from prior years. Betts also noted the district's internal services fund covered upgrades to the print shop and that the employee-benefit trust expects about a $21.1 million balance at year-end after stop-loss renewal (a consent-agenda item).
Board members asked clarifying questions about how Title funds are used and about print-shop outsourcing. Betts said Title allocations support staff and programs in Title schools (reading specialists, attendance and family-engagement strategies, remediation supports) and noted supplanting rules require Title funds to supplement, not replace, existing supports. On printing, Betts said the district sometimes contracts out for high-volume or specialty print jobs because the in-house print shop has limited staff.
Summary of financial clarifications in the meeting
- Maintenance & operations: +$300,000 attributed to weighted-student-count increases. - Department of Education one-time supplement: ~ $1,500,000 added, moved largely to unrestricted capital. - AEA adult-education: additional allocation ~$180,000; carryover permitted. - New School Safety Program grant: ~$313,000 expected annually for two more years (3-year award). - IVP fingerprinting process change: prior-year $22,000 balance to be resolved with auditors. - Internal services/print shop: new equipment purchased; some vendor contracts used for large-volume jobs.
Betts offered to provide additional details on print contracts and said she would follow up with further information.
