Dr. Ellworthy and business‑services staff briefed the board on OE‑9 (budget and financial planning) and OE‑10 (audit and financial reporting). For OE‑9, presenters outlined current and projected pressures including higher medical insurance claims (projecting roughly $3 million of additional expense in the year), a $6 million short‑term draw to maintain cash flow, and updated expectations for state special‑education aid (DPI guidance at about 35% versus earlier budgeting assumptions around 39%). Presenters described ongoing efforts to stabilize renewals and to manage a line of credit; they emphasized maintaining a $5 million minimum operational reserve and planning budget scenarios with conservative assumptions.

On OE‑10, business services described near‑completion of the audit, the district’s transition from Business Plus to cumulative (real‑time) reporting, and a substantial rewrite and cross‑reference of coding (thousands of codes) to meet DPI formats. Staff said the changes will allow more timely reporting and better forecasting; they credited finance staff for the conversion work and for improving procurement and time‑tracking visibility.

Board members asked about how forecast tools will be used for referendum planning and whether routine monitoring items such as OE‑10 could be moved to consent when consistently compliant. Commissioners debated the trade‑offs between keeping OE monitoring on the regular agenda as an educational opportunity and moving it to consent when there are no exceptions; a motion was made that OE‑10 could be moved to consent in future cycles while maintaining the board’s ability to pull it for questions. The board approved both OE‑9 and OE‑10 as presented.

Ending: The board approved OE‑9 and OE‑10 and directed staff to continue using forecasting tools and to return recommended materials and clarifications as requested. No ordinance or budget appropriation change was adopted at this meeting beyond routine acceptance of the monitoring reports.