Resident urges greater transparency on Clayton district finances and high fund-balance

During the public participation segment, Brad Bernstein addressed the board with a detailed critique of district finances and levy history, urging greater transparency and asking for long-term financial planning.

Bernstein said he reviewed levy history and told the board that the operating levy in 2004 had committed money for technology and facilities that he estimated had grown from $400,000–$500,000 per year to about $800,000 per year. He discussed a 2010 bond and subsequent levies (referring to a $0.62 levy and later reductions), the 2020 Proposition E levy, a proxy waiver that he said had increased from 8¢ to 12¢, and the district's current $75 million budget.

Bernstein told the board he believed the district's fund balance was stated at about 65 percent (he said it could be nearer 70 percent when calculated differently) and called that level "incredible," saying that a fund balance over 50 percent "is probably not the right thing to do for the public." He asked whether the district had done a fund-balance analysis since passing the levy five years earlier and urged long-term financial planning and clearer public explanations of how capital and operating costs were being managed.

Board members listened and thanked Bernstein for his comments. The transcript records his figures and observations as public comment; the board did not take an immediate action during his remarks.