Trustees press United ISD finance staff on disbursements, vendor payments and staffing shortages
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Summary
Board members at a Jan. 14 workshop questioned several December disbursement line items, asked about vendor payments and raised concerns about understaffed school nursing and behavioral support; staff said some expenditures (including alleged special-ed purchases) are under review and that the district will provide clarifications in the next packet.
Trustees at the United ISD workshop on Jan. 14 pressed finance staff for more detail on December''s monthly disbursements after reviewing the uploaded check register and backup.
Rosa Cabello, director of accounting, introduced the monthly disbursements report and answered early questions about payments. A trustee flagged two payments to one vendor — listed as Nick Benavides / Dream Big — totaling about $10,290 across two checks for grounds or mowing services; staff explained the checks covered separate dates/sites and were part of a competitive procurement process.
Board members also questioned food and incentive line items that appeared in the December register, noting higher totals around the holidays and asking whether purchases were appropriately categorized. A trustee asked whether the public-facing spreadsheet could show clearer descriptions; finance staff said they are working with the vendor system to make the description column more user-friendly and will provide clarifying paragraphs and backup in the next Friday packet.
Staff and trustees discussed staffing issues. One trustee said they had seen posts alleging a $3,000 expenditure on wine glasses for special education and raised concerns about nursing shortages, citing an example of a campus with 1,142 students and one nurse. Finance staff said purchases flagged in social media are under review and that disbursements are preprogrammed by the district''s enterprise software; an internal-audit and finance review will provide more detailed justifications. "That's something that's currently under review," a staff member said.
No formal action was taken on disbursements at the workshop; staff said they will include item-by-item clarifications and supporting invoices in the next board packet for trustees to review prior to any vote.