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Superintendent: preliminary audit shows construction draws and $14M in pay increases drained reserves
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Richard Rivera told trustees auditors had identified assigned projects and a $14 million salary-related expenditure from the prior year that reduced the district's fund balance; he said the district will use attrition, reductions and bond interest to stabilize reserves.
Superintendent Dr. Richard Rivera presented slides summarizing preliminary 2024–25 audit data and assigned fund-balance projects. He said the auditors will present finalized figures next month but that available information shows large assigned expenditures (including construction projects, stadium lighting and fuel tanks) and a payroll-related figure that the administration traces to raises and two $1,000 stipends paid in December and May.
"The big item, the $14,000,000 this is what happened. This was a salary increase from previous years," Dr. Rivera said, explaining that the figure represented raises, stipends and adjustments that were not captured in the original budget base. He told the board the district still expects to maintain roughly a 90-day reserve as it balances reductions and revenue options but acknowledged the reserve could shrink without corrective action.
Rivera said the prior CFO provided figures that later proved inconsistent with final accounting, prompting the district to adjust its approach. He recommended trustees wait for the auditors' final report and for staff to present reconciled statements and options — including attrition and potential property sales — to manage cash flow.
