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Committee reviews substitute pay increase and earmarking fund balance for high-school HVAC project
Summary
The committee recommended a 3% increase in substitute rates and added long-term substitute language; staff reported a $3.2 million projected fund balance driven largely by $1.5 million in interest revenue and discussed earmarking funds for a high-school HVAC project estimated near $10–13 million.
At the June 11 operations and finance meeting, district finance staff recommended a roughly 3% increase to substitute rates for 2025–26 and proposed adding language to the substitute-rate policy to cover long-term support-staff substitutes (custodians, administrative assistants, instructional aides). Dawn said the substitute-rate change and new long-term substitute wording will appear on the full-board agenda next week.
Dawn reviewed year-end projections and said the district’s fund balance could reach about $3.2 million, driven by approximately $1.5 million in interest revenue and slightly stronger than usual local tax collections. She told the committee that, while the one-time interest revenue has been larger than expected this year, it is not a reliable permanent revenue source and staff plan to allocate it toward capital needs rather than recurring expenses.
Board members discussed using a portion of the fund balance to help pay for capital projects, most notably a high-school HVAC replacement that staff estimated could be in the $10 million to $13 million range by the time the district executes the project. A committee member said earmarking several million dollars now could reduce future borrowing and avoid larger tax increases.
Staff also said they are reviewing a financial dashboard module available through CSIU that might replicate some Forecast5 functions; the district currently pays $18,000 a year for Forecast5 and staff proposed not renewing the Forecast5 contract and redirecting some of those funds toward other priorities, including the CLEAR purchase discussed earlier.
Dawn confirmed that the full budget book is ready for the board and that the district contracted BCIU to print and mail a one-page budget summary if the board approves the budget at next month’s meeting. The committee set the next meeting for August 6 and adjourned.
