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CFO: FY25 deficit narrowed to about $58 million; ClearGov to centralize district budgeting
Summary
Cindy Reilman, the district chief financial officer, told the board the district’s projected FY25 deficit has narrowed from $74.8 million to about $58 million and outlined steps — including a ClearGov rollout and a move toward cash-basis operations during the year — to improve transparency and controls.
Cindy Reilman, the district’s chief financial officer, told the board that fiscal-year 2025 began with a $74,800,000 deficit and now is expected to finish “around $58,000,000 deficit,” and that the district’s annual audit will be presented to the board on 2025-12-09.
Reilman said staffing costs and medical-benefits spending — including about a $4.5 million impact from high-cost medical claimants — remain the largest near-term risks to the fund balance. She described ongoing work to shift some internal reporting from full-accrual accounting to operating on a cash basis during the fiscal year while maintaining accruals for audit purposes.
The financial update matters because the district is targeting a 30–35% fund-balance range and must align services to available resources while protecting student services, Reilman said. “Fiscal year 25 began with a $74,800,000 deficit, and we finally ended up around $58,000,000 deficit,” she told the board, adding the figures are the best information available at this time.
John Klein, director of finance, outlined the budget calendar through 2026: a finalized budget manual, a February second draft for board review, and governing-council consideration by June. Klein flagged external uncertainties — including a pending senior property tax program review in St. Louis County and litigation around property-tax funding formulas — that could affect revenues.
Klein announced the district will implement ClearGov, a cloud-based budget management platform, this budget season to centralize submissions, reduce spreadsheet consolidation, host supporting documentation, and produce a digital budget book that can be linked from the district website after board approval. “What this also means is it’s no more spreadsheets,” Klein said, describing the system as a web-based dashboard that tracks progress and allows budget owners to attach quotes and invoices to submissions.
Board members asked how the migration affects public access. Klein and Reilman said the budget will be publicly accessible through a link once the board approves the document; staff also said ClearGov will support accessibility requirements, translations and features such as read-aloud for users with disabilities.
The board did not take a formal fiscal vote during the presentation; staff said the audit will be brought forward on the date announced and that budget development will continue under the calendar discussed.
The district plans to share more details about the ClearGov timeline and training with principals and directors in the coming days as it transitions away from fragmented spreadsheets.
