Appoquinimink School District officials presented a set of internal-review findings and financial fixes Tuesday and the board approved an amended FY26 preliminary budget after a month of committee review.

The superintendent, Dr. Matt Burrows, told the board that an internal review found the district's budget format "is not conducive to transparency or clarity around discretionary state and local funds" and recommended changes including distinguishing discretionary from nondiscretionary accounts, creating a chart of accounts, reinstating monthly cash-flow and salary trackers, and multiple layers of review. "The director of finance is currently working with Dr. Chuck Longfellow to begin allocating the budget in this manner," Burrows said.

Why it matters: The board faces immediate cash-flow pressure because county tax receipts are delayed and a wave of assessment appeals could alter revenue projections. Dr. Longfellow, participating via Zoom, told trustees the amended preliminary budget preserves the required carryover but said the district will not know the final revenue picture until tax receipts arrive in January.

Finance staff described a proposed budgeting platform, Allaview, that the district is vetting. Miss Lisa Stewart, the district's finance lead, told the board the three-year implementation would cost roughly $149,000, with a vendor discount because the district would be the first in the state to implement the system. "We will evaluate this in three years to see if it will be beneficial to continue or not," Stewart said. She added the vendor's implementation team is expected to manage much of the initial training workload.

Board members asked for access to backup spreadsheets and more detailed mapping of where discretionary funds are held; staff said they are already working to separate those amounts in the FY26 amended preliminary budget and will provide more granular crosswalks and monthly reporting going forward. Stewart said October tax receipts totaled about $15 million and October expenditures were roughly $28 million; she noted October included three payrolls. "That is the single most important question we ask every month," she said when asked whether the district is on track to meet required carryover.

Trustees approved the FY26 amended preliminary budget by voice vote, with the finance team and the financial-advisory committee recommending the measure. The board also approved the October monthly financial report and the internal-accounts reconciliation.

Next steps: District staff will continue to monitor county tax appeals and reassessments, provide additional crosswalks and supporting documentation to the board, and return with a final FY26 budget once January tax-receipt data are available. Dr. Longfellow and Stewart warned trustees that the district will remain in a cautious (austerity) posture until the revenue picture stabilizes.