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Board briefed on $850K+ purchase orders and state-reimbursed construction costs for new K-8 project
Summary
Finance staff told the Gadsden school board that direct purchase orders (DPOs) and other purchase orders totaling roughly $851,900 are being brought forward for board approval; those costs will be covered by special facilities construction funds and drawn down from the state, not from the general fund long-term.
At the workshop Miss Brunner walked the board through two construction-related agenda items. She said item 7B covers direct purchase orders pulled out of the guaranteed maximum price to take advantage of tax-exempt status and item 7C lists purchase orders that are outside the guaranteed maximum price but still funded from the construction fund. "These are purchase orders for items under the construction plan that are part of the guaranteed maximum price, but because they are being pulled out into a direct purchase order, we're able to get the tax savings," she said.
Board members asked whether these expenditures would be reimbursed by the state and when the district would actually pay invoices. Miss Brunner said the funds come from special facilities construction funds and are reimbursed through the state's drawdown process. "Whatever we expend on the construction, we get the money back from the state," she said, describing the drawdown as a two-month process where the district requests the money in the first month and receives it in the second.
A board member noted a handout listing total funding to date for the K-8 project at $81,703,933 and asked about a reported $18 million allocation in a draft compromise budget; board members and staff discussed remaining gaps for gym renovation estimated in the $8to9 million range. Miss Brunner said none of the purchase orders being presented had stopped construction and that the board must ratify large purchase orders per policy and state law.
Miss Brunner also confirmed that backup documentation and invoices for outside vendors (including Southern Earth Sciences and municipal utility relocations) will be maintained. She said the district will present an expenditure tracker next month showing appropriations and year-to-year rollovers to help the board monitor spending.
No vote was taken at the workshop; Miss Brunner said the purchase orders are being presented for board approval at a later meeting because amounts exceed the boards policy threshold.
