District reports $25.6M projected carryforward, shifts $11M to unrestricted capital; Math and Focus in second year of elementary rollout

Ms. Betts, speaking for district finance staff, told the board the district's available balance in maintenance and operations is about $8.7 million as of the third quarter and that an unrestricted-capital available balance is roughly $25.6 million, which district staff expect to propose as a carryforward in the June budget presentation.

Betts said the district moved $11 million from maintenance and operations into unrestricted capital earlier this year as a strategy to maximize interest earnings while preserving operating capacity; she said additional encumbrances may appear before fiscal year end. She highlighted that auxiliary/cash funds (fees, tax credit and technology fees) hold roughly $9.3 million in available balances and that 70–80% of that balance is held on behalf of schools or students.

The finance presentation also reviewed year-to-date revenues and expenditures through March 31. Betts said state aid timing and a long-standing state rollover practice mean the district had received approximately 64% of expected state revenues by third quarter rather than the 75% a simple pro-rata expectation would suggest. She noted a reduction in the state college-credit exam incentive payments for AP teachers this year and said the district distributed the full state allocation to teachers rather than retaining any for district-level uses.

On capital needs, board members asked for specifics. Finance staff and the superintendent identified priorities including high-school track replacements (safety concerns), recent $2.3 million in parking-lot work, roofing and HVAC equipment, and other repairs. Staff said Asset Planner has been updated to reflect work through late February and that the district will present detailed capital priorities and proposed unrestricted-capital spending in the May budget revision and the June budget proposal. The district also plans a future work study on capital needs after further clean-up of the Asset Planner data.

In an academic update, Robert Bircher (elementary director of curriculum, instruction and assessment) and Crystal Udall (elementary coordinator of mathematics) reported on Math and Focus, the district's adopted math curriculum used in the traditional elementary sites (Canyon Rim, Neely and Spectrum). Udall said Math and Focus is in year two of implementation and cited midyear diagnostic growth: the proportion of students in the "above level" category doubled between the beginning and middle of the year for the measures presented (data reported through February). She noted students use the online component (ED) an average of 1.6 times weekly and that WAGL, a supplemental component for intervention and enrichment, is used for targeted support.

Curriculum staff emphasized supports purchased alongside the core program — fact-fluency materials and extra practice resources — and that campuses schedule intervention/enrichment blocks ("win time") to deliver supplemental practice and digital assignments. Staff said they will continue to collect end-of-year data (May) and that year-3 professional development is being planned for veteran teachers.