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Board approves grouped fiscal reports; staff says arts/music carryover due to late contracts
Summary
The Monterey County Board of Education approved six fiscal reports together and discussed sizable carryovers in arts and music funding attributed to delayed waivers and late vendor starts; staff said they will pursue different vendors and aim to expend funds this school year.
The Monterey County Board of Education voted to approve a package of annual fiscal reports, including several items tied to arts and music programming, after staff explained why many program budgets showed substantial carryovers. Board President Heather Owen called the motion and it passed by voice vote.
Trustees raised concerns about multiple programs underspending their allocations. "There—s lots of carryover," said a trustee during discussion, noting that some programs had more carryover than current-year allocations. Staff explained the cause: delayed state waivers and protracted contracting and onboarding for outside vendors prevented planned projects from starting until late in the year. Dr. Colleen Stanley, the county office chief business official, described specific vendor timing problems that left work unfinished and therefore unspent.
Stanley highlighted examples in the July claims report: final payments for vendor contracts and large service items are reflected in the packet and some line items (a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar technology contract and a $500,000 contract for a fee-schedule implementation) account for peaks in July spending. For arts and music specifically, Stanley and special-education staff said contracts arrived or cleared at mid- to late points in the fiscal year so larger projects could not be completed in time.
Trustees pressed for a plan to avoid future underspending. Staff said they were recommending alternate vendors for some programs and would coordinate earlier contracting and fingerprinting/background checks that delayed start dates this year. The board approved items 6.1 through 6.6 as presented and directed staff to continue efforts to get projects underway and report back on expenditures.
The board also noted membership and dues items (summarized in the packet) and heard that some subscription costs for statewide associations have recently risen. The board asked staff to include clearer line items in future packets so trustees can track recurring association costs.
