* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:10] AND, UM, JOIN ME FOR THE PLEDGE OF ELANCE. OKAY. I PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. THANK YOU. IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. YOU SECOND MR. UH, PASTOR, UH, GORDON. UM, I, I SECOND THE MOTION. HE'S NOT ON THE COMMITTEE. IT IS, UH, CHLOE GORDON AND ELIZABETH HAYES. AND SHE IS ON THE PHONE NOW TRYING TO GET INTO IT. OKAY. OKAY. OH NO, I'M HERE. I SECONDED. OR I SAID SO MOVED. EXCUSE ME. IT WAS ME. I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET MY NOTE TAKER INTO THE MEETING. I'LL SECOND IT. YEAH, I'LL SECOND. YES. OKAY. I'M TRYING TO GET, UH, CHLOE IN SO I HAVE TO RESEND IT TO HER. OKAY. I'LL TRY TO SEND IT TO YOU AGAIN. ALRIGHT. UH, THE MEETING, THIS MEETING WILL BE BROADCAST BY THE COUNTY CHANNEL TO SPEAK DURING FINANCE COMMITTEE PUBLIC COMMENTS. PLEASE SIGN UP USING THE PUBLIC COMMENT FORM. YOU CAN FIND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION PUBLIC COMMENT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE, HTTPS UH SLASH BEAUFORT SCHOOLS.NET FOR SLASH ABOUT US SLASH BOARDED SLASH PUBLIC COMMENTS. YOU'LL RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENTS WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE FOR A MAXIMUM OF THREE MINUTES ON ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMITTEE'S DOMAIN. THE FORUM ROOM WOULD BE LIMITED TO 15 CITIZENS DESIRING TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON. MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD CLERK. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO, SIR. OKAY. IN TERMS OF THE MEETING MINUTES, WE HAVE THE MEETINGS FOR FEBRUARY 13TH AND MARCH 13TH. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES? SO MOVED. OKAY. I SECOND THAT. ALRIGHT. AND MADAM CFOI THINK THE, UH, BUDGET BOARD, MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT IS NEXT. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY, UH, A YEAR TO DATE BUDGET REPORT AS OF APRIL 4TH, 2025. UH, FOR THE BOARD'S MONTHLY BUDGET. UM, THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT ITEMS TO NOTE. UH, WE HAVE A 55%, 55.6% AMOUNT USED AS OF THE FISCAL YEAR. UM, THERE IS A, UH, A BUDGET TRANSFER THAT WAS MADE EARLIER IN THE YEAR, UH, OF $1,577. I WANNA POINT OUT, WE MENTIONED IT LAST TIME, BUT THAT IS, WAS ORIGINALLY PROVIDED FOR A LEASE THAT WE BELIEVED WOULD BE, UM, AN ACCOUNTING TRANSACTION THAT THE AUDITORS REQUIRED IN OUR PREVIOUS SCHOOL YEAR. UM, THEY DETERMINED THAT WE NO LONGER, UH, THAT WAS NO LONGER, THAT LEASE ACCOUNTING TRANSACTION WAS NO LONGER APPLICABLE TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO ALTHOUGH WE BUDGETED THE ITEMS IN EACH DEPARTMENT, UM, THOSE HAVE ALL BEEN REMOVED FROM EVERY DEPARTMENT AS WE WILL NOT HAVE, UH, THOSE CAPITAL LEASE ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS THIS YEAR. SO, UH, IT DID SAVE US A BUDGET ITEM OF ABOUT $300,000. SO THAT WAS A POSITIVE NOTE, BUT IT DOES SHOW REFLECT AS A BUDGET TRANSFER, BRINGING THAT BALANCE TO ZERO, UM, THROUGHOUT IN, NOT ONLY IN THE BOARD'S BUDGET, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT BUDGET, AND ALL OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL. UM, SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST EXPENDITURES, UM, IN THE BOARD'S BUDGET IS AUDITING SERVICES. UM, WE JUST, JUST HAVE, UM, WE'RE STILL UNDERGOING AND FINAL FINALIZING OUR A PROCUREMENT AUDIT. SO THAT WOULD, UH, THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL BILLING COMING UP SOON FOR THAT AS WELL AS ANY FIELD WORK OR SPRING WORK THAT'S DONE IN PREPARATION FOR NEXT YEAR'S AUDIT. UM, UH, FOR THE MOST PART, UH, THE OTHER ITEM THAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR EXPENSES IS, UH, ON THE TOP OF SEC, UH, PAGE THREE, AND THAT IS THE TECH PURCHASE AND SERVICES LICENSING. UM, THAT IS, UH, ACTUALLY, UM, WE HAVE SOME REMAINING FUNDS THERE. WE'RE WAITING ON BILLING FROM THE BEAUFORT COUNTY CHANNEL, UM, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR. UH, AND I BELIEVE [00:05:01] THAT, BUT BILL HAS BEEN REQUESTED. YES. HE SAID HE'S NO STRESSING IN THE BILL, SO I SHOULD GET TO THOSE SHORTLY. YEAH, WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED A BILL THIS YEAR, I DON'T BELIEVE, OR WE DID NOT MUCH OF ONE. SO, UH, I THINK THE 7,000, THAT'S ACTUALLY UNDER THE YEAR TO DATE EXTENDED ITEM THERE IS ACTUALLY THE, UH, COMMUNITY OR DILIGENT YES. UM, SOFTWARE. SO, UH, THE REMAIN, THE REMAINDER OF THE BUDGET ITEM IS FOR COUNTY CHANNEL AND WE EXPECT A VERY LARGE BILL HERE AT YEAR END. IS THAT HOW, WHAT'S THAT? NORMALLY ABOUT 60,000. 50 OR 60,000? YES, I BELIEVE SO. YES. YES. THANK YOU. AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER ITEM THAT'S MAJOR, UH, ITEM IN THIS CATEGORY IS THE ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP INDUCED, WHICH IS THE THIRD FROM THE BOTTOM, THIRD FROM THE GRAND TOTAL. AND THAT IS CSA MEMBERSHIP WHERE YOU ARE MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION. UM, THE, UH, AND OUR, UH, POLICIES, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND BOARD POLICIES ARE ALL HOUSED ON, UH, A SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE THAT IS MANAGED BY THE CASA ORGANIZATION. SO THAT HAVING ACCESS TO THAT TO PUT ALL OUR POLICIES ON THE WEBSITE AND MANAGE THAT IS, UM, WHICH MANY OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE DO. UM, THAT'S PART OF THAT EXPENSE AS WELL. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. UM, MS. HAY? I DO NOT HAVE ANY THANK YOU. MS. IS MS. UM, GORDON? UM, I'M GONNA CALL HER. SHE'S GONNA COME BY PHONE. OKAY. THEN I HAVE ONE, UM, WE DID NOT DU RENEW THE LEGISLATIVE, THE LOBBYING CONTRACT, WHICH I THINK WAS 40,000 MM-HMM . AND WE GAINED THE BENEFIT OF THAT OR WAS IT SORT OF LIKE AT THE END OF THE PERIOD? SO WE'LL HAVE TO GO INTO THE NEW YEAR TO SEE THE PENNY STATE. UM, THE LOBBYING CONTRACT WOULD STILL BE INCLUDED IN THE CURRENT BUDGET. UM, SO, AND THAT WAS PAID ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. OKAY. UM, I WOULD THINK THAT, ARE YOU ALSO PLACED DIFFERENT? YES, WE ARE. WHERE ARE WE? WE'RE IN THE TECH LAB. THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. SO IT'S PAID QUARTERLY, SO SOME OF THAT WOULD BE BAKED ALREADY INTO THE FULL YEAR, BUT WE'VE ALREADY GOT THREE QUARTER A YEAR. THREE, YES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO MAJORITY OF IT WOULD'VE BEEN PAID. UM, SO THERE WOULD BE A, A QUARTER'S WORTH OF SAVINGS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. AND THEN WE'LL, UM, WE TOOK THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN BUILDING NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UM, THAT WE WOULD NOT HAVE THAT SERVICE AVAILABLE. UM, BUT DID PROVIDE, LEAVE A SMALL AMOUNT FOR IF THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE SERVICE CONTRACT THAT WOULD NEED TO BE HELPFUL. SO WE DIDN'T LEAVE SOME, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL FOR TRAINING FOR THE BOARD OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO WE LEFT SOME FLEXIBILITY. OKAY. THANK YOU. NEXT. OKAY. UM, THE NEXT ITEM IS TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR FEBRUARY OF 2025. UH, THIS IS 110 PAGE REPORT. UM, JUST A PRELUDE TO THAT CONVERSATION. UM, LAST TIME WE SPOKE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UH, EXPLORING SOME OPTIONS FOR, UH, CONSOLIDATING OUR TRANSPARENCY REPORTS FOR THE, THE COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD'S REPORTING PURPOSES TO ENHANCE THAT, UH, THE FEATURES TO BE MORE VISUAL, TO BE MORE TARGETED TOWARD, UM, HAVING, UH, PURCHASES OR CONTRACTS PAID THAT WERE OUTSIDE OF THE NORM, UH, BEYOND A CERTAIN THRESHOLD. SO WE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO PUT THAT RESEARCH, WE DID A GOOD BIT OF RESEARCH IMMEDIATELY AFTER FOLLOWING THE LAST MEETING, UH, THE MEETING BEFORE LAST, I BELIEVE. UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY HAD TO PUT THAT ON HOLD BECAUSE OF BUDGET. SO, UM, WE DO EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO BRING SOMETHING BACK. WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING SOMETHING BACK BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, SO IN THE JUNE, JULY ONE PERHAPS. RIGHT. JUST IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THAT TO BRING BACK FOR THE NEW YEAR. UM, BUT I, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ALL HANDS ON DECK ON WORKING ON THE BUDGET IN ADDITION TO, UH, ADDRESSING FISCAL FISCAL IMPACTS OF ALL THE, MANY, MANY LEGISLATIVE BILLS THAT HAVE COME OUT THIS YEAR, MUCH MORE THAN NORMAL. SO WE HAVE OUR LOT OF, LOT OF ON IN OUR HANDS RIGHT NOW, BUT WE DO EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO JUMP BACK ON THAT HOPEFULLY IN JUNE TO BRING BACK SOMETHING TO THE COMMITTEE, UH, AT, AT THE FOLLOWING MEETING. [00:10:01] BEYOND THAT, AND MAY I ADD JUST ONE THING? MM-HMM . UM, ALL OF THE REPORTS THAT A PERSON OR A READER OR A MEMBER NOW? YES. WE'LL CONTINUE. SO PHYSICALLY IN THE NEAR TERM, THIS, THIS COURT REPORT WILL STILL BE HERE. SO EACH OF US CAN INDIVIDUALLY FORWARD MARK IT UP. YES. BUT WHAT WE WANT LONG TERM IS TO TRANSITION WHERE THOSE REPORTS ARE VISUAL SO YOU DIRECTLY WHERE THE EXCEPTION IMMEDIATELY AND THEN YOU CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS AND HOPEFULLY IZE THAT. MM-HMM . AND WE'LL STILL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE SOME LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY REPORT. THERE'S CERTAIN NOT, UH, CERTAIN FORMAT'S REQUIRED BY THE STATE. SO WE'LL STILL BE PUTTING THAT ON OUR WEBSITE, WHICH ALL OF THE, UH, THIS TRANSPARENCY REPORT IS CURRENTLY. SO WE'LL STILL BE DOING SOME FORM ON OUR WEBSITE AS WELL. EVERYBODY. OKAY. MS. GORDON, MS. HAY, YOU OKAY WITH THE, UH, COMMENT CONVERSATION? YES, ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT TAKES TIME TO FIND THE PROGRAM THAT WILL FIT US AND OUR NEEDS APPROPRIATELY. SO IT'S COMPLETELY UNDERSTANDABLE. THANK YOU. UNDERSTAND. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC COMMENTS ABOUT THE TRANSPARENCY. UM, IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THOSE ITEMS, UM, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE THEM. IF NONE, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE MONTHLY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS REPORT. UM, WE HAVE BOTH THE CONSOLIDATE FIRST CONSOLIDATED AND THE DETAILED REPORT. UH, MS. JUNIOR IS HERE. SHE PREPARES ALL OF THESE TRANSPARENCY REPORTS, HER, HER WITH A ACCOMMODATE WITH HER TEAM, UM, WORK REALLY HARD TO ENSURE THAT THESE ARE, UM, ARE DONE ACCURATELY AND ON TIME READY FOR, FOR BOARD AND COMMITTEE APPROVAL OR, OR REVIEW. UM, ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS? I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ON THESE REPORTS? MS. UM, GORDON? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE THE, UH, DOCUMENT. OKAY, MS. GORDON, WE'LL HAVE TO, UH, DISCUSS HOW WE MIGHT CAN HELP WITH THAT. OKAY. OKAY. AMY IS ON HER PERSONAL PHONE, SO OH, OKAY. THAT AND SHE'S NOT BEING ABLE TO GET HER EMAIL. YEAH. OKAY. UH, MS. HAY, I COMBED THROUGH THEM AND I DID NOT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. UM, MS. CROSBY, IF I MAY, SORRY, I'M SO FULL OF QUESTIONS. YES, NO, YOU'RE FINE. THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE HERE FOR . UM, IS IT, IS IT FEASIBLE AND, AND, AND BE WORTHWHILE IN THE COMPARISON. LET'S TAKE A BM INDUSTRY . THIS YEAR WE'RE SPENDING 884,000 LAST YEAR WE SPENT NOTHING MM-HMM . OR SOMEONE WHO MAY BE SEEING THESE THE FIRST TIME. IS IT POSSIBLE TO DEFINE WHAT NA IS? I KNOW HE'S NOT AVAILABLE. AND CAN WE HAVE SORT OF A DEFINITION THAT SAYS, NOT YOU LAST YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? MM-HMM . JUST SO THAT SOMEONE LOOKING AT IT FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SAY, OH, I UNDERSTAND NOTHING VOLUMINOUS. JUST YEAH. IT'S JUST LIKELY THE TIMING OF THE PAYMENT, UH, UH, DID NOT OCCUR IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, PROBABLY RIGHT BEFORE JANUARY ENDED AND, OR RIGHT AFTER FEBRUARY ENDED IN, INTO THE MARCH TIMEFRAME. SO MOST LIKELY, TYPICALLY IT'S LISTED AND IT WAS JUST, IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN OVERSIGHT FROM US WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO PREPARE THE REPORTS OF THE CURRENT YEAR AND PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR THAT WE KNOW WE PAY A BM SOMETIMES FOR MAINTENANCE AND FOR CUSTODIAL, OR NOW IT'S CUSTODIAL IN CONJUNCTION WITH MAINTENANCE. UM, BUT YES, WE, WE COULD DEFINITELY BE MORE CLEAR IN THE RATIONALE PORTION FOR THE, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE SEEING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. AND THAT WAY PEOPLE WHO MAY BE EXTERNALLY LOOKING AT THIS FROM AFAR WILL KNOW THAT WE ARE ANSWERING ALL THE QUESTIONS BEFORE. MM-HMM . I THINK THE SAME THING WOULD APPLY TO BRIGHTVIEW THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR. WE DO PAY BRIGHTVIEW FOR OUR, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PREPARING OUR ATHLETIC FIELDS. THERE MAY BE OTHER SERVICES UNDER BRIGHTVIEW. THEY'RE, BUT THEY'RE LINING THE BALL FIELDS AND, AND PREPARING OUR ATHLETIC FIELD. SO WE DO PAY 'EM ON A MONTHLY BASIS. SO THAT'S LIKELY TO BE THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. UM, AND THE, THE TIMING OF THAT WAS JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT THIS TIME. SO WE CAN MAKE SURE TO ADDRESS THOSE NOT APPLICABLE ITEMS. UM, GOING FORWARD. , UM, CATAPULT, IT WAS A PARTICULAR, UM, PROGRAM OR THAT WAS INITIATED, UM, FOR INTERVENTION SERVICES AND IT WAS A ONE-TIME THING, SO IT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE PAY ON A [00:15:01] MONTHLY BASIS. SO, UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, WOULD BE A ONE-TIMER. UM, BUT MOST OF THESE WILL BE TIMING ISSUES. WE JUST PAID IT IN A DIFFERENT MONTH. SO WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE THOSE DETAILS. YES, I'M MARK THEM ON MY NOTES TO DISCUSS WITH MY TEAM. YOU, YOU MIGHT WANNA USE TI FOR TIMING ISSUES, SOMETHING VERY SIMPLE, NOT TRYING TO TIE YOU UP WITH A LOT OF, OKAY. OH, UM, MS. HAY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO, SIR. MS. GORDON, CAN SHE HEAR NOT? NO. OKAY. MR. SMITH, UH, YES. UH, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF, RIGHT, UH, RIGHT, RIGHT. YOU SAID THAT THEY, UH, THEY DO, THEY DO, UH, WHAT DOES THAT WORK CONSIST OF EXACTLY, BUT YEAH, WE HAVE TWO GROUNDS CONTRACTS. ONE IS BRIGHTVIEW, ONE IS GREENERY. UH, GREENERY DOES MORE OF THE GRASS CUTTING GREEN AROUND THE FACILITIES. GREEN GREENERY DOES HALF OF OUR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE. BRIGHTVIEW DOES THE OTHER HALF OF OUR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE. AND THEN OUR SECOND CONTRACT BRIGHTVIEW HOLDS COMPLETELY FOR ATHLETICS. SO THEY DO BOTH HALF OUR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE AND OUR, ALL OF OUR ATHLETIC FIELD MAINTENANCE. AND WHEN YOU SAID, WHEN YOU SAID FIELD MAINTENANCE, WHAT DOES THAT, I KNOW A COUPLE WHEN WE FIRST GOT THESE, UM, THESE, UH, CHURCH FIELDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, LIKE THAT, UH, WE WOULD HAVE ON OUR COST WITH THAT. UH, DOES, IS THAT WITHIN ANY OF THIS, DO WE PAY THROUGH THE, OVER THE PEBBLES THAT ARE PUT IN THEY THROUGH OUR CONTRACT? OR DO WE PAY JUST THE COMPANIES THAT INSTALL THE CHURCH FIELDS TOO? RIGHT. USE SUBCONTRACTS OUT WITH THE COMPANIES WHO DID THE INSTALLATION. UM, GET AT MY COMPUTER NOW. SO THERE IS MAINTENANCE ON TURF FIELDS AFTER, I DON'T KNOW HOW FREQUENTLY, BUT THERE ARE, UM, SOME, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TEXTURE, WHETHER IT'S RUBBER OR WHATEVER THE SURFACING THAT WE'RE USING. UM, THERE IS SOME THAT THEY HAVE TO OVERLAY WITH SOME, UM, TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, KEEPS THE TURF, UM, VIABLE. UH, SO THERE IS SOME KIND OF MAINTENANCE CONTRACT THAT IS, IS INVOLVED WITH IT? YES, THEY DO. THEY SUBCONTRACT WITH A COMPANY THAT IS, UM, THE ONLY, I SHOULD SAY IT'S A, IT'S LIKE ALMOST LIKE A SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER. IT SAYS THE INSTALLATION OF THE FIELD AND MAINTAINING THE TURF HAS TO BE DONE. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC LIST OF, THIS IS SAND, THIS IS TURF, THIS IS GRASS. SO THAT THEY KNOW EXACTLY HOW TO MANAGE IT. AND THEN THE SCOPE OF WORK AND THE SOLICITATION, WHICH IS VERY LENGTHY. DETAILS OUT EXACTLY WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO TO MAINTAIN OUR FIELDS AND WHAT THEIR REQUIREMENTS ARE. AND HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW REGULAR HOW REGULAR THEY GO OUT THERE? I DON'T HAVE THE FREQUENCY ON HERE. MR. OTTING WOULD PROBABLY BE A REALLY GREAT RESOURCE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION. WE, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN PULLING UP THE CONTRACT, IT WOULD, UM, HE MANAGES THAT, THAT CONTRACT. OKAY. UM, ALSO, UH, IN, IN TERMS, IN TERMS IN TERMS OF HOW ARE THEY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRACK AS WELL? IS THAT AN ODD QUESTION? MM-HMM . YEAH. LET'S, LET'S, LET'S GO THROUGH YOUR QUESTION, MR. SMITH AND TALLY THOSE THAT HE, UM, REFERRED FROM THE SIDE. MM-HMM . YES. SO YOU GOT TWO. WHAT, WHAT'S THE I WAS ONE ALSO I, THAT SAME COMPANY, UH, IN, IN CHARGE OF THE TRACKS AS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THE, SOME I I, I'VE BEEN NOTICING THAT SOME OF OUR TRACKS ARE TORE UP TWO. SO I'M JUST WONDERING BECAUSE I WOULD HERE US TO BE PAYING, PAYING THE COMPANY FOR SERVICES THAT WE'RE NOT GETTING. RIGHT. OKAY. YOU KNOW, SO, SO EXECUTION ON THE CONTRACT FROM OPERATION, YOU GOT ANOTHER MR. ? UH, NO, AS OF RIGHT NOW, THAT THAT'D BE OKAY. ALRIGHT. UM, UM, PASTOR GORDON IS ON AS WELL. OH, PASTOR GORDON, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, SIR? NO, NOT AT ALL RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYTHING ELSE, MS. ? NO SIR. NO SIR. ALRIGHT. MOVING RIGHT AHEAD. OKAY. UM, ACTUALLY, UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS ALMOST THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT OE OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION BY, UM, AND, UM, I BROUGHT FORWARD THE SAME, UH, INFORMATION AND, UM, I THINK WE REFERRED IT TO THE ISSUE TO FIND, UM, I THINK WE ACTUALLY GOT APPROVAL FROM THE COMMITTEE AND MOVED IT FORWARD TO, UM, POLICY COMMITTEE, BUT THEN THERE WERE NO FURTHER MEETINGS AND I THINK THE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR MOVED OFF FOR THE BOARD AT THAT TIME LEFT. UM, MS. WISNESKI, DR. [00:20:01] KY. UM, SO THIS NEVER SORT OF CAME FULL CIRCLE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF POLICY COMMITTEE AND THEN TO THE FULL BOARD. SO I'M BRINGING IT BACK AGAIN. UH, 'CAUSE IT IS AN IMPORTANT, UH, PIECE, ESPECIALLY WHAT AS WE'RE BUILDING THE BUDGET. SO OPERATIONAL EXPECTATION FIVE IS TITLED FINANCIAL PLANNING. IT IS A BOARD POLICY. SO UNLIKE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES, ADMINISTRATIVE RULES REQUIRE US TO BRING FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS AND CHANGES FOR YOUR INFORMATION. AND THEN TO THE FULL BOARD FOR INFORMATION, A BOARD POLICY REQUIRES IT TO BE REFERRED TO A COMMITTEE OR BROUGHT TO THE FULL BOARD FOR THREE VOTES. I BELIEVE. UM, I THINK A BOARD POLICY REQUIRES THREE READINGS OR OF A CHANGE. IT DOES. OKAY. SO THIS ONE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT REQUIRES A LITTLE MORE EFFORT THAN, THAN JUST THE STANDARD ADMINISTRATIVE RULE. UM, SO I AM ONLY RECOMMENDING A CHANGE TO TWO LINE ITEMS, AND THAT IS THE FIRST ONE SAYS. UM, AND THIS IS ALL ABOUT THE FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF THE BOARD, THE, UH, OF THE DISTRICT, MOSTLY BUDGETING PURPOSES. AND SO, UH, IT DEFINES THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL DEVELOP A BUDGET THAT MAINTAINS AN UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE NO LESS THAN IT DID SAY 10% OF THE NEXT YEAR'S GENERAL BUDGETED EXPENDITURES WITH A DESIRED TARGET BETWEEN 15 AND 17% OF THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO THIS IS A STANDARD LANGUAGE AS FAR AS, UM, UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE MEANS IT'S UNCOMMITTED. THE BOARD HASN'T DIS NATIVE, UH, VOTED TO DESIGNATE ANY PIECE OF THE FUND BALANCE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. AND, UM, AND IT IS VERY TYPICAL THAT YOU MEASURE THE FUND BALANCE PERCENTAGE BASED ON THE NEXT ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE NEXT YEAR, BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN YOU'LL ACTUALLY SPEND THE FUND BALANCE IF THAT WERE, IF YOU CHOSE TO DO SO. SO THE, THE ISSUE, AND I HAD AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, I THINK I, I BETTER STICK TO THAT. UM, WHAT WE'RE THE LAST CHANGE WAS MADE IN FEBRUARY OF 2021. SO IT WAS, UH, FOUR AND SOME FOUR PLUS YEARS AGO. AND THE DISTRICT AT THE TIME INCREASED THE FUND BALANCE FROM A RANGE OF 13 TO 15% TO 15 TO 17%. SO WE KNEW THE VALUE THAT DEMONSTRATES THAT WE KNEW THE VALUE OF INCREASING THE FUND BALANCE, BUT THERE'S SOME REALLY IMPORTANT REASONS WHY WE NEED TO IN, TO HAVE A FUND BALANCE AT A CERTAIN LEVEL. SO I HAVE ABOUT FIVE POINTS HERE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, JUST MENTION AND THEY'RE IN YOUR SUMMARY AS WELL. UM, STRONG FUND BALANCE IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL FACTORS IN MAINTAINING A HIGH CREDIT RATING AND IS ESSENTIAL FOR FISCAL STABILITY. OUR DISTRICT'S AA ONE CREDIT RATING DEPENDS IN PART ON MAINTAINING THE RESERVES, THE LINE WITH BEST PRACTICES AND PEER BENCHMARKS. UM, SO THE PROPOSED REVISION RECOMMENDS THAT WE MAINTAIN A FUND AMOUNTS OF NO LESS THAN 60 DAYS OF NEXT YEAR'S OPERATIONS. THAT WOULD BE THE CHANGE IN LANGUAGE. THIS RECOMMENDATION ALIGNS WITH THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, WHICH IS WHAT I AM A MEMBER OF, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT I USE AS BEST THE ORGANIZATIONS I USE AS BEST PRACTICE. AND I HAVE LOOKED AT OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS RESEARCHED AND OTHERS HAVE, UH, AT LEAST TWO OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS I FOUND HAD, UH, POLICIES LIKE THIS ONE. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT PEER DISTRICTS, PEER BENCHMARKS CURRENTLY OE 5.1, WHICH STATES WHICH THIS STATES CONFLICTS WITH 5.2 BECAUSE 5.2 STATES THAT THE DISTRICT MUST MANAGE FUND BALANCE SUFFICIENT TO AVOID BORROWING A TAN, A TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE. AND MY CAL, BASED ON MY CALCULATIONS, I BELIEVE THAT 20% FUND BALANCE IS WHAT'S NECESSARY TO AVOID A TAN. AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND AVOID A TAN AFTER HAVING 20 YEARS OF BORROWING FUNDS AND PAYING EXPENSES AND INTEREST AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS A RESULT OF HAVING TO BORROW FUNDS IN OUR, IN THE LOW POINT OF OUR CASH CASH FLOWS IN THE FALL. SO WE'VE CONSISTENTLY MAINTAINED A 20% FUND BALANCE IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, AND THAT IS LIKE CRITICAL TO SUSTAINING A LEVEL TO ENSURE FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND, UH, FINANCIAL STABILITY AND CREDIT STRENGTH. SO THE KEY OBJECTIVE OF THIS POLICY REVISION IS TO ENABLE THE DISTRICT TO PERVERT, UH, PRESERVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS AND STRENGTHEN A LONG-TERM POSITION. SO WE'RE NOW LOOKING JUST AT THIS YEAR, BUT THIS YEAR'S COMING BUDGET, WE [00:25:01] ARE LOOKING LONG TERM TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL. AND I HAD, UH, WE'RE GETTING READY TO HAVE A BOND ISSUE ON THE REFERENDUM. UH, THE BOARD'S ALREADY APPROVED IT, IT IS GOING TO BE ISSUED IN MAY ACCORDING TO THE DEBT DATE PRESENTATION. AND TO, UH, THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS I'VE BEEN WORKING ON UPDATES FROM THE TWO CREDIT RATING AGENCIES, MOODY'S AND STANDARD AND POORS. AND THEY WANNA KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA USE FUND BALANCE, THEY WANNA KNOW IF WE ARE MAINTAINING OUR 20% RATING, HOW THAT'S GOING, HAVE WE CHANGED OUR POLICIES. UM, AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL QUESTIONS IN THE UPDATE THAT I'M PROVIDING TO THEM. UM, AND, AND SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM. SUSTAINING OUR CURRENT CREDIT RATING FOR $132 MILLION BOND IF YOU WERE GETTING READY TO MAKE. SO, UM, I THOUGHT THE TIMING WAS APPROPRIATE. UM, ONE, WE'RE BUILDING A BUDGET AND TWO, WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO OUT FOR A BOND REFERENDUM OR A, UM, EXCUSE ME, A, A BOND ISSUE FOR THE REFEREND BOND REFERENDUM THAT WAS PASSED IN IN NOVEMBER AND TWO, AN 8% BOND ISSUE OF ANOTHER 30 MILLION IN AUGUST FOR OUR 8% PROJECTS. SO, UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY GOOD TIMING. UM, BUT MY RECOMMENDATION TODAY IS THAT WE REMOVE, UH, THE CURRENT LANGUAGE AND PUT A MINIMUM OF TWO MONTHS THAT ALLOWS THE BOARD, UH, THE FLEXIBILITY OF INCREASING SLIGHTLY, UM, THIS 15 TO 17% COULD BE INTERPRETED AS A CAP OF 17%. SO, UH, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY ABOVE THAT, UM, BY A FEW PERCENTAGE POINTS. SO, UH, I THINK IT'S BEST TO CLARIFY THE LANGUAGE TO GIVE US AND GIVE THE DISTRICT SOME FLEXIBILITY TO GROW THAT OR MAINTAIN IT, GROW IT SLIGHTLY, OR TO MAINTAIN IT AS IS IN ORDER AND TO, SO WE DON'T HAVE CONFLICTING POLICIES AND WE'RE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A STRONG CREDIT RATING. SO, UM, I'LL STOP THERE AND OFFER, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY QUESTIONS. UM, MS. HAY, I HAD HAD A QUESTION ABOUT FUND BALANCES, BUT MRS. CROSBY ADDRESSED THAT IN HER EXPLANATION, SO THANK YOU. OKAY, MS. UH, BOYDEN, I WAS LISTENING, UH, TO MS. CROSBY, AND MY QUESTION IS, UM, WHEN DO WE HAVE TO LET, UM, STANDARD COURSE OUT? I HAVE UNTIL APRIL 16TH TO RESPOND TO THEIR, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M TALKING UP HERE. I GUESS SHE'S ON THE PHONE. OH, . UH, I HAVE UNTIL APRIL 16TH TO RESPOND TO HER, UM, UH, QUESTIONS, WHICH ARE BASICALLY THE SAME QUESTIONS THAT I HAD IN THE FALL. JUST THAT, ARE THERE ANY CHANGES? SO I HAVE STATED IN MY DRAFT THAT I HAVE NOT SUBMITTED YET, THAT I WAS COMING TO THE BOARD FOR A POTENTIAL CHANGE TO THE, TO THE POLICY AND THAT I WAS GONNA ATTACH, YOU KNOW, A DRAFT OF THE POLICY OR, OR INDICATE AT LEAST, UH, SOME INITIAL LANGUAGE OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO, UM, I WAS NOT PLANNING ON PROVIDING ANYTHING DEFINITIVE. UM, JUST THAT WE ARE, WE ARE ACTIVELY TALKING ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN, UM, MAINTAIN OR GROW THE AMOUNTS IF, IF NEEDED. SO, UH, THERE'S CER THEY WANT REASSURANCE THAT WE ARE NOT PLANNING TO USE FUND BALANCE OR DECREASE IT ANY WAY. SO I THINK AS LONG AS THEY GET THAT MESSAGE THAT WE'LL BE FINE WITH THE CURRENT, WITH THE CURRENT RESPONSES. OKAY. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . UH, COLONEL GUY, ANY QUESTION? UM, UH, THE POLICY COMMITTEE C HASN'T MET BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, UH, GREAT POLICY COMMITTEE ARE, UH, WHAT THE, WHAT POLICY DOES AND DOES NOT DO. AND SO THIS HERE DOES NOT SAY, IN MY VIEW, DOES NOT NEED TO GO TO POLICY COMMITTEE. POLICY COMMITTEE REFLECTS WHAT WE DO, NOT WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO. MM-HMM . OKAY. THAT'S, THAT IS THE, UH, PREROGATIVE OF THE COMMITTEE TO SAY THAT THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO WITH OUR FUND BALANCE REQUIREMENT. AND THEN THAT GOES TO A VOTE TO THE BOARD, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO. ONCE THAT, ONCE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED BY THE BOARD, THEN IT GOES TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE TO SAY, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE DONE. POLICY [00:30:01] COMMITTEES ARE NOT FOR PLANNING POLICY COMMITTEES IS FOR CONTINUITY. SO THAT WHEN SOMEBODY COMES INTO THE BOARD, WELL WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING? THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. IT'S A CONTINUITY THING, NOT A PLANNING THING. THIS IS PLANNING. SO I BELIEVE THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO BRING TO THE FULL BOARD FOR AN ON A MOTION THAT WE WISH TO CHANGE THE FUND BALANCE FROM 10% OF THE NEXT YEAR'S GENERAL FUND TO TWO MONTHS OF THE NEXT YEAR'S BALANCE. THAT IS WHAT'S PROPER IN, IN MY BELIEF. THEN IT GOES TO POLICY. MM-HMM . OKAY. POLICY DOES NOT DRIVE OPERATIONS. OPERATIONS AND CURRENT DECISIONS DRIVE POLICY. SO, UH, I AND I I I JUST LOOKED AT WHAT IT WOULD BE, UH, ON LAST YEAR'S BUDGET. WHAT IS OUR FUND BALANCE NUMBER NOW? 72. WELL, 20% OF LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, THIS CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET MM-HMM . IS 71,000,800 MM-HMM . SO IT'S 72. THAT'S WHAT WE ARE DOING. YEAH. WE'RE AT 20.1%. YEAH. SO WE'RE JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE. AND THAT, AND THAT'S 20%, THAT'S TWO, TWO MONTHS WORTH OF, UH, OF THE FISCAL YEAR. YEAH. WE WANNA BE, I, I HAVE NO INTEREST IN HAVING MASSIVE INCREASES TO THIS. I, I LIKE THE 20% MARK. AND THAT'S WHERE KIND OF THE GOAL AND THE THRESHOLD FOR BUILDING THE FUTURE BUDGET IS TO MAINTAIN THAT PERCENTAGE. 'CAUSE IT'S NOT THE AMOUNT THAT THE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES LOOK AT, IT'S THE PERCENTAGE COMPARED TO YOUR PEERS. SO THAT'S THE MEASURING STICK THAT I'M USING WHILE I'M BUILDING THE BUDGET. NOW THERE'S ALSO, THERE'S TWO FUND BALANCES MM-HMM . THERE'S OUR OPERATIONS FUND BALANCE. MM-HMM . THERE'S OUR DEBT SERVICE FUND BALANCE. BOTH OF THOSE ARE SEPARATE, BUT BOTH OF THOSE SHOULD BE AT THE 20% OR, WELL, WE HAVE A LITTLE DIFFERENT STRATEGY ON DEBT SERVICE. IT'S A DIFFERENT STRATEGY. YES. WE HAVE, UM, ON DEBT SERVICE, WE, OUR GOAL IS A LOW POINT OF NO LESS THAN $5 MILLION AT ANY POINT IN TIME. AND DECEMBER 31ST IS OUR LOW POINT. UM, BECAUSE, UM, OR NO, IT'S ACTUALLY NOVEMBER 30TH, RIGHT BEFORE TAX REVENUES COME IN AGAIN, BUT WE JUST PAID OUR FALL INTEREST PAYMENTS. SO WE HAVE TO HAVE ENOUGH IN THE FUND BALANCE AT JUNE 30 TO PAY FALL INTEREST PAYMENTS OF SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS. AND THEN THE LOW POINT, WE DON'T WANT LESS THAN ABOUT FOUR OR $5 MILLION IN THE FUND BALANCE AT YEAR END. AND THEN TAX REVENUES, YOU KNOW, COME IN IN DECEMBER IN IN DEBT SERVICE AS WELL. SO IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT STRATEGY. WE DON'T REALLY BASE IT ON A PERCENTAGE, BUT MORE A DOLLAR AMOUNT. UH, UH, I'M SORRY, GO AHEAD. YES, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY IS WHAT OUR FUND BALANCE FOR DEBT SERVICE IS BASED ON. IT'S BASED ON WHEN OUR PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST HAS TO BE PAID AND WHAT OUR REVENUE IS AT THE TIME. SO MM-HMM . THAT'S A GOOD WAY OF SAVINGS RATHER THAN THE PERCENTAGE. CAN YOU, CAN YOU INCORPORATE THAT, THAT VERBIAGE, BECAUSE I SEE THAT REPORT THAT COMES OUT WHERE SAVED OUR LOW POINTS, $5 MILLION ROUGHLY TWO YEARS IN A ROW MM-HMM . AND, BUT, UH, I KNOW THAT THAT'S A TRIGGER, BUT IF THERE IS SOME EXPLANATION OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO, YEAH, WE COULD CERTAINLY INCORPORATE IT AND WE COULD CLARIFY THAT THIS IS JUST THE OPERATING FUND BALANCE AND THAT THE DEBT SERVICE FUND BALANCE WOULD BE, UM, THE STRATEGY FOR THAT OR THE, UM, RECOMMENDED LOW POINT WOULD BE A 4 MILLION OR $5 MILLION POINT AS OF DECEMBER 31ST AND YOU GET IT FOUR OR FIVE BECAUSE TRADITIONALLY THAT'S THE CUSHION THAT'S NEEDED OR PROTECTION OR SOME OF THEM, UH, WELL, THERE AREN'T ANY EXPENSES. THE ONLY EXPENSES IN THE DEBT SERVICE FUND COME IN ABOUT SEPTEMBER IS INTEREST ONLY, AND MARCH APRIL IS PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST. SO THE BULK OF THE PAYMENTS ARE IN APRIL. AND YOU THINK ABOUT THE TIMING OF WHEN TAX REVENUE COMES IN IS DECEMBER AND JANUARY RIGHT BETWEEN THOSE TWO. SO THERE'S REALLY NO NEED FOR, HES TO HAVE A, A LARGE FUND BALANCE AT DECEMBER WHEN WE KNOW WE'RE GONNA GET TAX REVENUE IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY. UM, SO IT WON'T PAY 5 MILLION, WON'T PAY FOR MARCH AND APRIL, BUT IT WILL JUST HAVE, UM, SOME RESERVES IN THERE, IF ANY, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULAR EXPENSES, YOU KNOW, AROSE. UM, BUT THAT REALLY IS NOT, THE OPERATING FUND BALANCE WOULD BE A PLACE THAT WE WOULD GO FOR EMERGENCIES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. [00:35:01] THANK YOU. UM, PASTOR MOORE, YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, SIR? GORDON? GORDON ? I SAID I SAID THAT YESTERDAY. IT'S ALRIGHT. NO, I'M GOOD. I'M GOOD. THANK YOU. UH, WHO ELSE IS ON MS. HAY? OH, MS. HAYES. SHE SAID SHE HAD NO, YOU ANSWERED THE, UM, YOU EXPLAINED MINE BECAUSE THE, THE QUESTION I HAD WAS ON NUMBER ONE WHERE IT SAYS UNASSIGNED UNBOUND. MM-HMM . SO WHAT IS THAT PARTICULAR DEFINITION? UNASSIGNED? OH, UM, IT HAS, SO AN ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD BE A PREPAID EXPENSE. A PREPAID EXPENSE WOULD BE SOMETHING, SAY YOU, UM, SAY MS. JINGER WANTED TO GO TO A CONFERENCE IN JULY ON JULY 5TH. UM, AND WE NEEDED TO BOOK HER RESERVATIONS, UH, NOW TO PREPARE TO MAKE SURE SHE HAD ADEQUATE LODGING AND TRANSPORTATION. WE WOULD RECORD THAT NOW DO A REQUISITION TO, FOR ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT IN A REQUEST FOR HER TO TRAVEL AND THAT BASICALLY ENCUMBERS FUNDS. OKAY. NOW BECOME INCOME. IT'S, IT IS AN EXPENSE OF THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO OCCUR, THE TRAVEL'S GOING TO OCCUR OR THE SERVICE WILL INCUR, OR THE PRODUCT WILL BE RECEIVED IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. MM-HMM . IT IS CALLED A PREPAID EXPENSE. SO WE ARE RESERVING THE FUND BALANCE, ASSIGNING THE FUND BALANCE TO AN EXPENSE CURRENTLY THAT WE KNOW IS GOING TO COME OUT JUST SHORTLY AFTER YEAR END. SO THAT IS AN ASSIGNMENT OF FUND BALANCE. THERE ARE SEVERAL CATEGORIES, FOUR OR FIVE, AND I, WE DON'T TYPICALLY COMMIT FUND BALANCE OTHER THAN PREPAID EXPENSES. BUT THE BOARD COULD, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, DESIGNATE UM, M MONEY FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR TO USE FUND BALANCE. AND IT WOULD BE A COMMITTED OR ASSIGNED, UH, USE OF THE FUND BALANCE. AND IT SHOULD NOT BE, IT WOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN, IN THAT FUND BALANCE PERCENTAGE. SO THOSE ARE EXAMPLES. SOMETHING THAT EITHER IS AN ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENT THAT WOULD COMMIT IT, OR THE BOARD'S AT THE BOARD'S VOTE WOULD COMMIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. PREPAID EXPENSE MADE. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . ALRIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? SO I GUESS WE NEED A VOTE TO TAKE IT BEFORE THE, UH, DID YOU, DID I GET YOU MR. SMITH? UH, NO. UM, EXCUSE ME. UM, I JUST, UH, I, I'LL LEAVE. I WON'T, I'M, I'LL JUST WAIT. ILL, OKAY. SO WE SHOULD HAVE A VOTE TO TAKE IT TO BOARD FORWARD. YES SIR. I HAVE A RE A RECOMMENDED MOTION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, BUT THAT WOULD NEED A SLIGHT MODIFICATION TO CHANGE IT FROM BEING REFERRED TO POLICY TO REFER IT TO THE FULL BOARD. CAN WE GET THAT? UM, AND WOULD MS. HAY OR MS. GORDON, MS. HAY, CAN YOU SEE THE RECOMMENDED MOTION? I WAS JUST TRYING TO ZOOM IN ON IT. AND WE ARE CHANGING, WHICH IS BEING CHANGED, REFERRING TO THE POLICY COMMITTEE. WE WOULD, WE WOULD CHANGE TO THE FULL BOARD. FULL BOARD. OKAY. ARE YOU ALL READY IT JUST TO MAKE SURE BECAUSE IT'S ON A REQUESTED MOTION, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. AND MS. MS. HAY? YES, SHE YES I DO. ALRIGHT MA'AM. OH, IT'S JUST MOVED. HOLD ON. QUIT MOVING IT AROUND. , I MOVE THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE APPROVE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO OE FIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING AND REFER TO THE FULL BOARD FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL. FOR APPROVAL, I GUESS. OBJECTION MS. IT'S SECONDED. ALRIGHT. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY MOTION. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR TO SAY RAISE YOUR RIGHT HANDS BY SAYING AND SAYING AYE. AYE. MS. GORDON A AYE. DALLAS AYE AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION, COLONEL. THANK YOU FOR THE EXPLANATION MR. FROST. THANKS EVERYBODY. OKAY, ANYTHING ELSE? FUTURE TOPIC. I HAVE EIGHT ITEMS FOR NEXT TIME. . WONDERFUL. THIS WAS SO SLIM , UH, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ITEMS FOR NEXT TIME, MOST OF WHICH ARE RELATIVELY SMALL. BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT, UH, I LOOKED BACK AT LAST YEAR AND I RECALLED THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR. [00:40:01] WE HAVE A FEW THINGS, AUTHORIZATIONS WE HAVE TO GET. SO IN ADDITION TO THE BOARD BUDGET, THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT, A HUNDRED K REPORTS, WE HAVE THE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT MM-HMM . UM, I HAVE OS 37 R, WHICH ARE BASICALLY THE UNPAID MEALS POLICY, WHICH NO LONGER APPLIES CURRENTLY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE UNPAID MEALS NOW THAT WE'RE FULL CEP OR ALL FREE LUNCH, FREE BREAKFAST. SO I NEED TO OKAY. MODIFY IN MAJOR IN A MAJOR WAY. UH, THAT POLICY, UM, SS 42 IS OUR WELLNESS POLICY. IT NEEDS, UH, SOME FLIGHT MODIFICATIONS. UM, WE HAVE E-RATE AUTHORIZATION THAT WE DO ANNUALLY AND A GRANT AUTHORIZATION, IT AUTHORIZES, UM, UH, I LEAD THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO, UH, APPLY FOR AND, AND ADMINISTER GRANTS. SO THERE ARE EIGHT ITEMS I CAN SHARE THOSE WITH. YOU DO, DID YOU WANNA SEE? UH, NO, I'M, I'M GOOD. SO, UM, WE'LL BE ACTIVELY, WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO WORK ON THE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT. IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE WHILE 'CAUSE IT'S ALL FUNDS AND, UM, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON SOME OF THE OTHERS AS WELL. YES, SIR. MR. CHAIRMAN, I, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU DON'T CHANGE THE MEAL PIECE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE FUNDING FOR EVERYBODY. MM-HMM . JUST KEEP IT IN THERE. OKAY. IF, IF IT CHANGES MM-HMM . BUT I, I WOULDN'T TAKE IT OUT AND THEN HAVE TO PUT IT BACK IN. JUST LEAVE IT IN. OKAY. RATHER THAN TAKE IT OUT JUST AND HOLD, JUST HOLD, JUST HOLD, PUT IT ON HOLD FOR A WHILE. PUT ON HOLD BECAUSE YES, SIR. BECAUSE I, I'VE SEEN, I DON'T THINK THAT WE WILL HAVE THAT ALL THE TIME. YEAH. OKAY. MS. HAYES, WE'LL PASS HER HAND UP. YES. MS. HAY. YEAH, I WAS JUST GONNA ASK MRS. CROSBY, AS THOSE DOCUMENTS BECOME AVAILABLE, WOULD YOU MIND GOING AHEAD AND, UM, PERHAPS EMAILING THEM TO THOSE OF US ON FINANCE COMMITTEE SO THAT WE CAN BE REVIEWING THEM AS THEY'RE FINALIZED? BECAUSE IT IS HARD, EVEN WITH LIKE A TWO DAY RUNWAY, IT'S OFTEN DIFFICULT TO DIVE INTO THE LENGTH OF ALL THE REPORTS, UM, TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE WHEN YOU HAVE A JOB AND CHILDREN AND SO ON. SO IF YOU DON'T MIND, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE TO SORT OF LIKE SLOW DRIP THOSE OUT AS THEY'RE AVAILABLE, THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC. YEAH, SURE. I DO TRY TO GET THEM ALL DONE BEFORE BY THE END OF THE DAY, FRIDAY BEFORE THE MEETING, BUT THIS TIME I DID NOT HAVE TIME. I, I MISSED THAT MARK AND GOT 'EM OUT A LITTLE LATER THAN NORMAL, BUT YES, NO, IT'S, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. I JUST, ANY LONGER RUNWAY WITH THE AMOUNT OF DOCUMENTS IS ALWAYS HELPFUL. OKAY. WILL DO. DO WE HAVE A SET TIME AS TO, WE DON'T, WE TRY TO DO FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING. DOES THAT CRUNCH IT TOO MUCH? I'M, I'M SORRY. WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, I WAS JUST ASKING QUESTION TO BE BETTER INFORMED, WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? DO WE HAVE A SET TIMELINE? WE TRIED TO DO FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING. OKAY. SO THE SUPERINTENDENT AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, UM, WAS GOING TO IMPLEMENT A NEW, UH, INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION GUIDELINE MEETING GUIDELINE. AND SO FOR THE, FOR THE BOARD MEETING, IT IS THE THURSDAY PRIOR TO THE BOARD MEETING ON TUESDAY. OKAY. SO FOR BASICALLY THREE AND A HALF WORKING MEETING ALMOST. OKAY. IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD TRY TO TARGET WITHOUT COMPRESSING TOO MUCH ON THE FINANCIAL FOLKS, YOU THINK? UM, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT FEASIBLE? WELL, I, I ASSUMED THAT IT WAS APPLICABLE TO THE COMMITTEES AS WELL, SO I TRY TO GET THINGS OUT BY THE FRIDAY BEFORE AND I HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND YEAH, NO QUESTION. I THINK ALL OF THEM EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE. SO IF I DON'T GET IT OUT, I GET IT THREE DAYS BEFORE. UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A, A NEED TO CHANGE THAT, BUT, UM, CERTAINLY I CAN, I CAN GET SOME OF THE DOCUMENTS A LITTLE EARLIER 'CAUSE I BASICALLY PULLED 'EM INTO A SHARED DOCUMENT AND LOAD THEM ALL AS WE GET THEM AND THEN I FINISH THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES AND THEN THEY'RE ABLE TO GET EVERYTHING OUT. SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NEED A DEFINITION OF THAT OR, OR, BUT WE DEFINITELY HAVE SOME OF THE DOC, THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS TO BE ON THE WEBSITE BY THE END OF MONTH MM-HMM . FOLLOWING THE END OF THE REPORTING PERIOD. SO FEBRUARY HAS HAD TO BE ON THE WEBSITE BY MARCH 30TH FIRST, UH, NOT MARCH 31ST. SO THAT ONE'S READY. OKAY. SO I COULD GET SOME OF THE LARGER REPORTS OUT. WELL, LET'S, [00:45:01] LET'S, LET'S HAVE THE THURSDAY AS AN ASPIRATIONAL GOAL, UH, JUST TO FEEL IT AND SEE IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S, IT'S DOABLE. WE DON'T WANNA SORT OF COMPRESS ALL THE THINGS YOU HAVE TO DO. WE'RE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT ACCURACY, WHICH YOU'VE ALWAYS, YOUR TEAM HAVE ALWAYS MET. UH, LET'S JUST SEE IF IT'S DOABLE AND IF IT'S NOT, WE COME BACK AND WE HAVE FURTHER DISCUSSION. UH, IF THE SUPER, WHATEVER THE SUPERINTENDENT EXECUTES HIS, UM, MEETING GUIDELINES MM-HMM . I THINK THOSE, THOSE WOULD BE PRETTY FIRM AND EVERYBODY CAN BE IN MM-HMM . AND WHAT WE MAY WANNA CLARIFY IS WHAT IF IT FALLS ON A SUNDAY OR SATURDAY, RIGHT? IS THAT COUNT AS A, AS A DAY? ONE OF THE FIVE DAYS. BUT BECAUSE IF YOU COUNTED BACK FIVE DAYS FROM THE THURSDAY'S FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, IT FALLS ON A SUNDAY MM-HMM . TO THREE OR SATURDAY. SO I JUST PROVIDE IT BY FRIDAY. MM-HMM . SO I DON'T HAVE TO WORK OVER THE WEEKEND ON THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE. . SO WHICHEVER WITH HOW LARGE THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT IS. UM, ABSOLUTELY. EVEN IF IT DOESN'T MAKE IT, BECAUSE ALL THE DOCS USUALLY COME TOGETHER. ANYBODY, ANYBODY ON THE BOARD, THE PUBLIC CAN LOOK AT THEIR TRANSPARENCY REPORT BY THE LAST DAY IT HAS TO BE POSTED. THAT'S A REGULATION WITH A BILLING STATEMENT. SO YOU COULD SEE IT 10, 15 DAYS IN ADVANCE IF YOU WANTED TO WITH MORE TIME. SO IF IT'S, IT'S AVAILABLE, CAN YOU INCLUDE THAT IN FUTURE DOCUMENTS SO THAT, HOW TO GO ABOUT IT FOR PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF? SURE. OKAY. AND THEN, UH, TO MS. HAYES QUESTION, UH, THAT WAY EVERYBODY CAN GET IT AS EARLY AS THEY THINK AS THEY WANT TO MM-HMM . AND IT DOESN'T INCLUDE MORE WORK ON, ON THE STAND. MM-HMM . IS THAT FAIR? SO WE'LL CERTAINLY DO THAT. JUST ONE LITTLE TIP. YES MA'AM. ON THE WEBSITE THERE'S A, A MAGNIFYING GLASS THAT'S A SEARCH FIELD. ANYTIME I GO ON AND I WANNA GO TO TRANSPARENCY OR A FINANCIAL REPORT, I JUST TYPE IT INTO THE SEARCH ENGINE AND IT TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THAT, THAT TRANSPARENCY. YES. WEBSITE. I USE IT LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME. 'CAUSE I DON'T EVEN KNOW ALL THE CLICKS TO MAKE. SO THAT MIGHT BE A, A SHORTCUT THAT THAT FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED, UM, CAN GET INTO VERY QUICKLY. SO QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THAT IF YOU DON'T MIND. SURE. GO AHEAD. SO DOES THAT, DOES THAT BRING YOU TO THE DOCUMENT EVEN WHEN IT'S CURRENTLY BEING CREATED OR, BECAUSE I'M USED TO USING LIKE GOOGLE PLATFORMS FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE WORKERS CAN WORK TOGETHER AND EVERYONE'S IN FLOW AS THE WORK IS HAPPENING. MM-HMM . UM, IS THAT HOW DILIGENT WORKS AS WELL OR IS IT ONLY THERE ONCE IT'S THE FINAL PRODUCT? SO WHAT WE'RE REFERRING TO IS ON THE WEBSITE, NOT NECESSARILY IN DILIGENCE. SO IT'S UNDER THE MA MONTHLY TRANSPARENCY REPORTS AND IT'S A FILE, A PDF FILE THAT WE POST ON THE WEBSITE END OF THAT MONTH. SO OKAY, PERFECT. MONTHLY THERE, UM, IT'LL SHOW YOU ALL THE MONTH, MONTH, THEN WE CLICK ON MONTHLY TRANSPARENCY REPORTS AGAIN AND THEN WE GO TO THE FISCAL YEAR. THERE'S A FEW CLICKS TO GET THERE, BUT, UM, NO, THAT'S GREAT. I JUST, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS AVAILABLE BECAUSE I JUST HAPPEN TO ALWAYS GO TO DILIGENT, SO THAT'S HELPFUL. THANK YOU. YEAH, SO THIS WILL SHOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE SEEING TODAY AND YOU CAN BLOW IT UP AND EXPAND IT AND ZOOM IN AND ALL OF THAT, THAT, THAT SHOWS. SO THAT WILL BE UP BEFORE WE BRING IT TO THE BOARD. SO IT IS, WE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE COMMITTEE SEES IT BECAUSE IT'S REQUIRED BY THE STATE, UM, THAT TO GO UP AND IT CAN BE MATCHED WITH THE BILLING STATEMENT AS WELL, BUT ACTUALLY IS THE OFFICIAL BANK OF AMERICA BILLING STATEMENT FOR THE PCARD FOR TRANSPARENCY AS WELL. THIS JUST GIVES YOU DETAIL OF EACH TRANSACTION. AND THE REASON WE DON'T WORK IN GOOGLE OR, OR ANYTHING ELSE IS BECAUSE IF SOMEONE WAS TO RECEIVE ACCESS TO THIS AND MAKE ANY CHANGES, OUR GOAL IS TO BE COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT. SO ONCE IT IS POSTED HERE, WE DO NOT CHANGE IT. THE SAME PDF OR EXCEL FILE THAT IS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE IS THE SAME ONE. IT GOES TO ROBIN AT THE SAME TIME OR TO, UH, TO MS. CROSBY AND MS. PHILLIPS TO TAKE CARE OF THAT TO A FINAL REVIEW AS WELL. SO WE JUST, WE DON'T WANT ANYBODY TOUCHING IT OR CHANGING IT. THIS IS, IT IS WHAT IT IS ONCE IT HITS THE WEBSITE. ANY OTHER, ALRIGHT, THANKS, UH, FOR THE QUESTION, MS. HAY, UH, AND IN, IN TERMS OF TOPICS, EXCUSE ME, ONE THAT, UM, AND I THINK THE COLONEL HIT ON IT AND OTHERS HAVE HIT ON IT AS WELL. UH, THE FUNDING IS VERY UNCERTAIN AND THESE PARTICULAR TIMES, AND I THINK, I THINK WE ARE DOING A GOOD JOB OF, ACTUALLY YOU'VE IDENTIFIED WHERE YOU HAD A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS THAT WERE EFFECTIVE AND $27 MILLION THAT WAS AT RISK. IF THEY'RE CUT AWAY, UH, CAN WE MAINTAIN THAT? CAN WE GET UPDATES ON THAT? UM, BECAUSE IT SEEMS THAT, AND FOR EXAMPLE, [00:50:01] FREE AND REDUCED LUNCHES COME FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND OUR REQUEST WAS LOOK AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. MM-HMM . SO THERE MAY BE, YOU KNOW, UH, EXTENSIONS THAT IS MORE THAN JUST ONE OR TWO DEPARTMENTS IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. MM-HMM . THE OTHER THING IS THAT THE ELECTED LEGISLATIVE, HOLD ON, EXCUSE ME. THE ELECTED, THE LEGISLATORS AT THE STATE LEVEL, YOU KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND SAY, WELL IF THAT GOES OUT, HOW MUCH COMES AND HOW, HOW DO WE DISTRIBUTE IT? UM, SO THAT THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, SO YES, YOU'VE ALREADY DONE IT AND IT WAS VERY GOOD AND IT WAS INFORMATION THAT NOT A LOT OF DISTRICTS HAVE MM-HMM . SO WE CAN JUST DO THAT. UPDATE, UPDATE AND PROVIDE ANY UPDATES THAT WE MAY KNOW OF. THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. FAIR ENOUGH. YOU DO THAT. ANYTHING ELSE? UH, YEAH, ALSO, I WAS LOOKING FOR A TOPIC I, AND I DON'T, I DIDN'T HEAR TODAY ABOUT, UH, THE LAST, THE LAST WEEK I ASKED FOR A TOPIC ABOUT, UH, MONEY GOING BACK TO THE STATE. UH, UH, I WAS LOOKING FOR THAT TO BE ON, ON, ON DISCUSS TODAY. OKAY. I, I REQUESTED THAT THE LAST MEETING, THEN IT SLIPPED THROUGH. I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT. SO LET'S ADD THAT FOR THE NEXT FINANCE MEETING. OKAY. WE'LL GET TO THAT. AND, AND THEN, AND THEN, AND THEN ALSO, UH, I KNOW, UH, WE, WE DO, BUT ALSO, UH, I THINK WE, WE MAY HAVE ALSO, I WOULD LIKE FOR A, UH, FINANCE FOR A, UM, A, UM, TO SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT FINANCES, UH, A UM, WHAT'S THE WORD FOR YOU? OPERATE THE, UH, THE, UM, DOOR OR CHOP FOR FINANCES AND SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE. WE HAVE SHE SEE WHAT FINANCES DEPARTMENT LOOKED LIKE, HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE IN FINANCES. WELL, I THINK, UH, BASED ON THAT WAS PROVIDED, THAT WAS PROVIDED, UM, IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING WHEN SHE GAVE THE, THE BREAKOUT, UH, THE DEPARTMENTS AND HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE IN IT. SO WE HAD THAT AVAILABLE ALREADY. OKAY. OKAY. CONTINUING THAT CONVERSATION. UM, THERE, THERE, THERE THERE'S DISCUSSION ABOUT UM, WHERE, HOW WE MIGHT BE BECOME MORE EFFICIENT, NOT JUST A PARTICULAR SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT IN GENERAL, UH, AT THE STATE LEVEL. SO THAT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO SORT OF ALL OVER. IF THAT DOES COME, THAT QUESTION COMES TO FRUITION, HOW DO WE PREPARE TO ANSWER? ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT. OKAY. WELL UNLESS THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANKS EVERYONE. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.