Liberty board tables Westside Impact IGA over term, cost and governance concerns

The Liberty Elementary School District Governing Board on Feb. 9 tabled consideration of an intergovernmental agreement with Westside Impact School District after members raised legal and financial concerns.

Board members said the contract term — which would run through June 30, 2030 as written — could bind future boards to decisions they have not approved. Board member Todd asked whether the district should shorten the term to avoid tying a future board to long-term obligations. Another board member, Kenyon, noted the agreement’s fee structure: a minimum of $1.50 per average daily membership with language that could allow the fee to double, creating a potential multi‑year cost he estimated could reach roughly $55,000 under worst-case assumptions.

Interim Superintendent Michelle May said she was recently looped into the agreement review and did not yet have the historical record of how much Westside Impact has returned to the district in past years. May said administration would research past credits and provide the board with more detail.

Members also expressed concern that the IGA creates a fiscal board or fiscal agent whose spending the Liberty board would not control. Several trustees asked for a legal opinion about whether one board can bind another and whether the district retains appropriate checks and balances under the proposed governance structure.

President Schmidt and other members said the board was not rejecting the program outright but needed more information before committing. A motion to table the item until the next meeting passed unanimously.

What’s next: The board requested written answers on historical financial transactions under the IGA and a legal opinion on the agreement’s enforceability and governance structure before the item returns to the agenda.