District presents November financials, flags tuition and transportation shortfalls; projections due next F&O meeting

Mister Hernandez presented the district’s November financial report and walked the Finance & Operations Committee through both a summary and a set of line‑item budget slides, saying, “Total expenditures to November 30 are $76,800,000.” He explained that those totals break into approximately $60,600,000 in general funds and $16.2 million in special funds and that encumbrances of roughly $85 million mean committed obligations rise to about $146 million, or about 68% of the budget.

Hernandez addressed committee concerns that tuition and transportation lines appear deeply negative, saying those numbers reflect timing: “There are some revenue reimbursements that have not been accounted for,” including tuition, excess‑cost and interdistrict transportation revenue that will post later and reduce the mid‑year shortfalls. He noted some expenses shown are encumbered (committed but not yet incurred) and that end‑of‑year reallocations from positive line items and identified special funds often cover shortfalls.

Finance director Juanita committed to preparing budget projections for the committee’s next F&O meeting to show a path forward, with Hernandez explaining that those projections “will have some assumptions built into it” and may be updated later. Committee members asked for clearer data on pie charts and for capital budgets to be shown separately; staff confirmed capital funds are tracked in a different budget and are not included in the monthly general or special funds report.

Committee discussion probed transportation in particular; Hernandez said transportation totals include the first half of an interdistrict grant (~$1.3 million) and that the second half will come in spring after submission of updated transported student counts, which will offset some of the current transportation pressures. Staff also described ongoing transportation audits to identify cost‑saving opportunities.

The committee was presented with the detailed line‑item reports (multiple slides) showing how larger categories break into ledger lines and by location, which staff said enables the district to identify which school sites or subitems drive variances.

What’s next: Juanita will provide preliminary projections at the next F&O meeting so the committee can see expected year‑end outcomes and potential adjustments.