Board questions revised budget after administration recommends higher special-education revenue and transportation costs
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Summary
Finance director presented a revised final budget that increases special-education revenue estimates and transportation expenditures; trustees pressed administration on restricted vs. unassigned fund-balance use and whether the proposal would leave the district below its fund-balance target.
Director Ryder briefed the board on a proposed revised fiscal-year '26 budget, explaining that final audited FY25 numbers and updated federal and state calculations require midyear adjustments. Major points staff raised included a recommended increase in special‑education revenue estimates tied to a state recalculation (the presentation listed a recommended $3,400,000 addition to special education revenue estimates), federal-grant carryforward adjustments (approximately $235,030), and a salary/benefit fine-tuning of around $280,000. Staff also recommended materially increasing the transportation budget to reflect last year’s actuals and an expected 5.3% pressure on costs.
Ryder told directors that after the adjustments the revised budget would show expenditures exceeding revenues for the general fund and that administration planned to present a formal action item at the Jan. 12 board meeting. Several trustees pressed for an explicit line-item breakdown that shows which charges will be covered by restricted fund balances (for programs such as REDACT) versus unassigned balances; trustees repeatedly asked whether the revised budget, as presented, would violate the board’s fund-balance policy (the district seeks an unassigned-fund-balance target of approximately 8% of expenditures). Several directors said approving an unreconciled revised budget could be interpreted as dipping into unassigned reserves in contravention of board policy, and asked administration to return with a one‑page comparison showing adopted vs. revised numbers by fund and restricted/unassigned designation.
Administration agreed to prepare the requested one‑pager and to run the revised numbers on the adopted budget so the board can compare options; the proposed action would be brought back for formal action on Jan. 12, 2026. Directors debated the tradeoffs involved in maintaining instructional supports while responding to rising transportation and special‑education costs.