Norman Public Schools board adopts amended budget, accepts audit and updates graduation policy; virtual plan approved

The Norman Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday approved a series of routine and policy items, including a budget amendment for fiscal 2024-25, acceptance of the district's annual audit, adoption of a new graduation policy reflecting recent state law changes, approval of six courses to count as math credits under that policy, and submission of a virtual instruction plan for state accreditation. The board then convened briefly in executive session to discuss the superintendent's evaluation and adjourned.

The board approved an amendment to the 2024-25 budget that district finance director Tyler Jones said was required to align the budget with final OCAS data and actual revenues and expenses. "The state requires that we amend our budget to equal our final OCAS data," Jones said during his presentation (SEG 288'SEG 301). The motion to adopt the amendment was made by Mister Regiers and passed by roll call.

The board also accepted the annual financial statement audit presented by Vanessa Dutton of iBailey. Dutton said the firm's work produced an unmodified (clean) audit opinion despite several adjustments. "The district received what we call a clean audit opinion," Dutton said, and noted a restatement for beginning balances of about $459,000 plus additional audit adjustments including an increase to cash and reduction of expense of roughly $778,000 and an increase to accrued interest and interest expense of about $970,000 (SEG 407'SEG 475). Dutton also described implementation of GASB 101 (compensated absences) and recurring student-activity fund findings.

Board members asked for clarification about the timing and classification of the $459,000 correction; Dutton and staff said the amount was recognized as a beginning-balance correction and would be treated on the full-accrual side as construction-in-progress or capitalized appropriately (SEG 541'SEG 549). The motion to accept the audit report was made by Mister Regiers and carried by roll call.

On policy, Miss McKinney presented proposed new Board policy 5-014, which the presentation said incorporates requirements from the state bills referenced in the packet (transcript references "House Bill 32 78" and "House Bill 26 72") and changes graduation requirements starting with the class of 2030. The board voted to adopt policy 5-014 and amendments to policy 5-001 (academic achievement) (SEG 598'SEG 616). Board members also approved a list of six courses the district recommended to meet the new math-credit criteria; Miss Price asked whether advanced programming courses have prerequisites and McKinney agreed to follow up with exact prerequisite details (SEG 646'SEG 655).

The board approved the MPS virtual instructional plan for 2026-27 and authorized submission to the State Department of Education for accreditation. Staff explained the plan is a contingency to allow up to two locally approved virtual days if the governor declares a local state of emergency. A board member raised concerns about whether virtual days could be used for high-school testing such as the ACT; staff said secondary leadership is exploring options and older models will be reviewed (SEG 696'SEG 734).

Other items included proclamation recognition of Native American Heritage Month and recognition of the district's National Merit semifinalists. Superintendent Dr. Nick Magarino highlighted district achievements and upcoming events including a community listening session scheduled for Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. and foundation-lab ribbon cuttings (SEG 819'SEG 889).

Before adjourning, the board met in executive session under Title 25 Oklahoma Statutes —S 307(b)(1) and (b)(7) to discuss the evaluation of Superintendent Dr. Nick Magarino; the board returned to open session and reported no votes were taken while closed (SEG 966'SEG 1001). The meeting then was adjourned by motion and voice vote (SEG 1002'SEG 1012).

Votes at a glance: - Consent agenda (items A'M): motion to accept by Mister Regiers; roll-call approval (SEG 223'SEG 262). - 2026 Board meeting dates: motion to accept by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 273'SEG 286). - 2024-25 amended budget: motion to accept by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 303'SEG 315). - 2024-25 audit report: motion to accept by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 536'SEG 576). - Policy 5-014 (graduation requirements) and amendments to 5-001: motion to adopt by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 613'SEG 616). - Proposed math-course list (6 courses): motion to accept by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 641'SEG 666). - 2026-27 MPS virtual instruction plan: motion to accept by Mister Regiers; approved (SEG 707'SEG 774). - Executive session to evaluate superintendent: motion to convene by Mister Regiers; board met in exec session and returned with no votes taken (SEG 968'SEG 1001).

What to know going forward: The administration will submit the amended budget and the audit filing to the state as required, provide follow-up on prerequisites for the newly approved math courses, and file the virtual instruction plan for accreditation. The board scheduled a community listening session on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.