Finance committee forwards purchasing agenda after briefing on special-education assessment software

The Grand Rapids Public Schools Board Finance Committee on July 28 voted to forward the district’s purchasing agenda to the full board after staff described several purchasing items, including a digital assessment library used by special-education staff, and explained fiscal-year accounting timing that may affect budgets.

Speaker 5 (identified in the meeting as Mr. Walsh, special-education staff) told the committee the district implemented the Pearson digital assessment library about 10 years ago and that it stores a range of assessments used by psychologists and related-service providers. "We went from all paper kind of diagnostic into this software by Pearson," Speaker 5 said. He added the system allows the district to maintain a required variety of assessments for special-education compliance under federal law (IDEA).

Staff also explained that timing of invoices can shift costs between fiscal years. Speaker 3 said services or materials received before June 30 are recorded in fiscal year 2024–25, while those received July 1 or later are recorded in 2025–26. She told the committee that additional invoices received after the fiscal-year close could raise the FY24–25 total to about $150,000 and urged members to expect timing-related variances. "June 30 is the magic," Speaker 3 said.

The committee discussed ways to clarify fiscal-year impact in purchasing-agenda descriptions; Speaker 2 asked staff to flag items with the fiscal year they will affect so members can track which budget year a purchase will be charged to.

Speaker 3 also reported on special funds and program changes: one after-school provider under the 21st Century Learning Community grant withdrew and another provider took on additional services, increasing invoices for the Loop summer program. She described a newcomer program at Union High School run with the Internationals Network that staff intend to budget in FY25–26.

On the agenda motion, Speaker 1 moved to forward the purchasing agenda to the full board; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee record shows a voice approval but does not include a roll-call tally or named vote counts.

Committee members asked about the district’s federal Title funds after a recent temporary freeze. Speaker 3 said the funds were expected to be released through the state and that allocations for Title programs should arrive in the coming weeks; she characterized the expected release as "a huge relief" because those funds and the positions they support are significant to district programming. When asked for a dollar estimate, Speaker 3 said she did not have exact figures but ballparked the amount as "a few million dollars."

Finally, Speaker 3 said external auditors conducted preliminary work and will return in September to finish the audit. Speaker 1 said staff would prepare training materials summarizing prior audits and key findings for committee members.

The committee adjourned after completing the agenda; the purchasing agenda will next be considered by the full board.