Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Interim finance director: district budget nearly balanced but special‑education costs rise
Summary
Interim finance director Dan Pine told the board the adopted budget is close to balanced, with projections that could yield a small surplus; the district flagged a roughly $1 million increase in special‑education expenses and outlined a tentative budget timeline including $1.6M in recommended reductions.
Dan Pine, interim director of finance for Byron Public School District, briefed the board on current fiscal status and the timeline for the 2025–26 budget.
Pine said the December 31 snapshot shows the adopted budget is near balance and, if assumptions hold, could end the year with a modest surplus. He noted bank reconciliations remain incomplete for several months and staff will continue to tie out revenue and expenditures. Pine explained salary and benefits timing distorts percent‑to‑date figures because teacher pay spans the fiscal year.
Board members pressed for comparisons to prior years and details on a jump in special‑education expenses from about $3.2 million to $4.2 million. Pine and leadership said the increase stems from higher numbers of individualized education program (IEP) students and rising service costs; much of those costs are reimbursed later through state special‑education aid, which can lag by a year or more.
Leadership outlined tentative budget milestones: an open‑enrollment window beginning Jan. 21; leadership recommendations and discussion Feb. 18; a special meeting to approve recommended reductions Feb. 24; board action on personnel matters in early March; budget committee review May 19; presentation of a preliminary budget June 2; and an adopted budget to meet the state deadline of June 30. The leadership team said it will present recommendations to achieve about $1.6 million in reductions and invited board questions and participation in personnel and budget discussions.
The board requested additional comparative data and follow‑up reconciliations; staff committed to returning with clarifying figures.
