* 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. HOLD [00:00:01] ON. HERE IT COMES. OKAY, PERFECT. SO I SHOW THAT IT IS ONE 30. SO WE WILL CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE OCTOBER THE NINTH. THIS MEETING WILL BE LIVE STREAMED ON THE SCHOOL BOARD'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL AT HT HTTPS SLASH SLASH WW.YOUTUBE.COM/AT BUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD. TO SPEAK DURING FINANCE COMMITTEE, PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE SIGN UP USING THE PUBLIC FORM FORM, COMMENT FORM. YOU CAN FIND THE BOE PUBLIC COMMENT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE, HTTPS SLASH WW BUFORT SCHOOLS.NET/ABOUT US SLASH BOARD OF ED SLASH PUBLIC COMMENTS, PERIOD. IF YOU DO, YOU'LL RECEIVE A PHONE CALL DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK AND ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE FOR A MAXIMUM THREE MINUTES. ON ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMITTEE'S DOMAIN. THE FORUM WILL BE LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES. CITIZENS DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON MUST FILL OUT A PUBLIC COMMENT CARD THAT CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE BOARD SECRETARY. AND WITH THAT, I BELIEVE WE HAVE A QUORUM. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. MS. UH, GORDON JUST ARRIVED SO SHE IS ON AS WELL. OKAY. SO IF YOU COULD PULL THE AGENDA UP AGAIN. I'LL CONTINUE. ALRIGHT, LET'S, UH, MEETING CALL TO ORDER. LET'S, UH, UH, JOIN US. JOIN IN A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE GREAT FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. AND IF YOU REMAIN STANDING FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE. OKAY, THANK YOU. IF YOU'LL PULL UP THE NEXT SECTION, PLEASE. TRYING TO, I'M TRYING TO GET THERE. OH, I SEE, I SEE IT TWIRLING. NO PROBLEM, MA'AM. IT IS WORKING FEVERISHLY LIKE A GERBIL. OKAY. IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2025 COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER THE 18TH. WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE AGENDA FIRST. OH, OH, I'M SORRY. IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. OKAY. THANK YOU MS. HAY. IS THERE A SECOND? OKAY, I'LL SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. OKAY. PASSES TWO ZERO. ALRIGHT. IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THE SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2025 COMMITTEE MEETING? MINUTES. SO MOVED. I SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. A AYE. THANK YOU. MS. HAPE PASSES TWO ZERO. MOVING FORWARD PLEASE. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND WITH THAT, WE BEGIN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT. MS. CROSBY, WOULD YOU LEAD US THROUGH THAT, PLEASE, MA'AM? YES, SIR. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. UH, THE BOARD, MONTHLY BUDGET, UH, THE REPORT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU IS YEAR TO DATE AS OF OCTOBER 2ND, 2025. SO, UM, THIS REPORT INCLUDES THE, UM, SALARIES, BENEFITS, TRAVEL, UH, SUPPLIES AND SERVICES, UM, OF THE SPENDING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. AND, UH, THE OVERALL SPENDING AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR IS 17.4%. UM, AND THE, WITH THE LARGEST, UH, AMOUNT OF SPENDING IN THE ORGANIZATION, MEMBERSHIP AND DUES, WHICH IS A ONE-TIME PAYMENT TO SCAA AS A MEMBERSHIP TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION, UM, UH, SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION, I BELIEVE IS WHAT THAT STANDS FOR. UM, THAT ALSO INCLUDES, UH, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ONLINE POSTING OF THE BOARDS AND DISTRICT POLICIES. SO I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT REPORT, UH, THAT YOU MAY HAVE. MS. HAY, [00:05:02] I DID NOT HAVE EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING LOOKED IN ORDER. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. MS. GORDON? SHE IS MUTED. OKAY. UH, I THINK COLONEL GEIER IS THERE. WHO, WHICH OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE THERE? UM, OTHER BOARD MEMBERS IS COLONEL GEIER AND MS. FRAZIER IS ON AS WELL. GOOD MORNING, MS. FRAZIER. HOW ARE YOU MA'AM? GOOD MORNING. I'M DOING GREAT. AND YOURSELF TOP SIDE AND TALKING. NO COMPLAINTS. GOOD, GOOD, GOOD. I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU COLONEL. GEIER? NO QUESTION. NO QUESTIONS, SIR. THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIR. ALRIGHTY. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. MS. CROSBY, SIR. UM, WE HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY, UH, THE NEW TRANSPARENCY ANALYTICS REPORT, ALONG WITH, UH, WHICH IS AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, UH, ABOUT A SIX PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, SEVEN LITTLE BIT ON SEVEN PAGE, UH, FOR YOU. UM, I, UH, THIS IS COMPILED PRIMARILY BY, UH, MS. JINGER AND HER TEAM. SO, UM, IF, IF MS. JINGER IS O OPEN TO THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO HER TO JUST SORT OF SUMMARIZE A FEW OF THE ITEMS IN THIS REPORT. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. UH, THIS IS THE NEW TRANSPARENCY REPORT, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, UM, FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE. UH, FIRST PORTION IS A SMALL INTRODUCTION, JUST, UH, INCLUDING THE DETAILS OF WHAT THIS REPORT IS GOING TO INCLUDE. AND THIS ONE IS SPECIFICALLY, UH, IN COMPARISON OF AUGUST, 2025 TO AUGUST OF 2024. UM, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO TRANSPARENCY ALIGNING WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S BOARD POLICY, UM, AS REQUIRED BY OE SIX A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CONTRACTS THAT WERE COMPLETED DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 2025. THOSE INCLUDE AMENDMENTS THAT ARE BROUGHT, UM, TO THE BOARD AS WELL. YOU'LL SEE THEM LISTED THERE. AND MB CON THOMPSON TURNER, ANOTHER ONE FOR MB CON. AND THEN OUR NEWEST CONTRACT WITH SODEXO FOR MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, UH, THAT WAS SIGNED AND BROUGHT TO THE BOARD AS WELL. SCROLL DOWN. FIRST ONE IS EXPENDITURES BY FUND. THIS ALLOWS THE, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE TO HAVE A SUMMARY OF HOW FUNDS WERE EXPENDED FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 2025 BY FUND. AND THEN AT THE BOTTOM, THERE ARE KEY HIGHLIGHTS REPRESENTING THAT THE GENERAL AND CAPITAL FUNDS FOR THE PRIMARY FUNDS USED FOR AUGUST, 2025 EXPENDITURES. THE NEXT VISUAL GRAPH IS TOP 25 EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY. UM, ALSO WITH KEY HIGHLIGHTS THAT THE TOP 25 EXPENDITURE AREAS INCLUDED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE PURCHASES, HVAC SERVICES AND CLEANING SERVICES. AS EXPECTED STILL DURING THOSE SUMMER MONTHS, RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED AND FUNDING WAS ALLOCATED TO SUPPORT STUDENTS MAINTAIN FACILITIES AND ENHANCED TECHNOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. THIRD VISUAL GRAPH IS THE TOP PIN EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM SPENDING COVERED 10 KEY CATEGORIES ALIGNED WITH DISTRICT PRIORITIES DURING THE SUMMER AS WELL, WHICH WAS FACILITIES ACQUISITION AND CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE. AND THEN AS SCHOOLS STARTED THAT SPENDING INCREASED WITH PRIMARY PROGRAMS, HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS, UM, PAYMENTS TO CHARTER SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS, AND IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTION. SO, UM, THAT WAS FOR THE TOP 10 EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM. AND THEN THE FINAL GRAPH IS THE VENDOR'S EXPENDITURES THAT EXCEED, UM, A HUNDRED K FOR THE MONTH OR A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE MONTH. AND THIS GRAPH REPRESENTS EXPENDITURES FROM AUGUST OF 2024 COMPARED TO EXPENDITURES OF AUGUST OF 2025. UM, BELOW THIS GRAPH IS A KEY SUMMARY THAT SHOWS YOU THE MAJOR VARIANCES AND ISOLATES, THE DIFFERENT THINGS BETWEEN CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES, TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE, UM, OTHER NOTABLE VENDORS, AND THEN THE REASONS FOR THOSE MAJOR VARIANCE AS WELL. OKAY. UH, BOARD MEMBERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS. ANY COMMENTS, ANY QUESTIONS, WHAT HAVE YOU? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I JUST LOVE THIS NEW FORMAT. SO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS. THANK YOU, MS. GORDON. SHE'S STILL MUTED. CAN YOU SEND HER A TEXT? OH, THERE SHE IS. HERE SHE COMES. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. UM, AGAIN, I, I LOVE THE, UH, REPORT AND, UH, I APPRECIATE ALL THE HARD WORK THAT, UH, THIS COMMITTEE DOES EVERY DAY, NOT JUST EVERY YEAR, BUT EVERY DAY. SO THANK YOU FOR, UH, REPORT THAT I [00:10:01] CAN UNDERSTAND. AND, UH, ALTHOUGH I'M DRIVING, I'VE NOW STOPPED. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. UH, MS. FRASER, NO QUESTIONS. UH, COLONEL GEIER, AND THIS, THIS REPORT IS SUPERB. THANK YOU, SIR. MS. YER. WELL DONE, MA'AM. UM, AND, AND, AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE MOVING TO ENSURE WE CAPTURE ALL THE DATA AND THERE'S A, WELL, THERE'S A, THERE'S A DEEP VEIN OF DATA BELOW THESE REPORTS. AND SO STRATEGICALLY, THE QUESTION THAT I JUST WANT TO RAISE FOR CONSIDERATION BY ALL IS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HAVING A, A TRAINING SESSION THAT SHOWS ALL BOARD MEMBERS IN THE, IN A FUTURE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, HOW YOU DRILL DOWN. BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS I LEARNED FIRST GETTING ON THE BOARD WAS HOW THE COLONEL GOES THROUGH REPORTS, DETAIL BY DETAIL. AND HE, I REMEMBER EARLY ON IN MY TIME ON THE BOARD, HE IDENTIFIED, UH, SOME THINGS THAT WERE NOT CLEARLY EVIDENT. SO I'M JUST TRYING TO ASK THE TEAM, JUST CONSIDER IF WE GO, IF WHEN WE GO THROUGH AN EXERCISE OF HOW TO DRILL DOWN AND STILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE REPORTS, THEY ARE STILL AVAILABLE TO EVERY BOARD MEMBER WITH ALL OF THE SPECIFIC DETAIL THAT'S EVER EXISTED. SO WE'RE NOT GIVING UP THAT ROLE OF OVERSIGHT, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT. UH, AND I THINK, UM, IF I'M, IF I'M ABLE TO SHARE OR PULL UP THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE INDIVIDUALLY, I I'LL, I'LL BE HAPPY TO SHARE ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT IT. UM, BUT THIS IS A SUPERB PIECE OF WORK AND IT HIGHLIGHTS THE AREAS THAT, UH, MIGHT WARRANT FURTHER REVIEW OR QUESTIONS. UM, BUT AGAIN, THANKS TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE BOARD AND, UH, THE STAFF. SO, MS. CROSBY'S, HANDS UP. YES. MS. CROSBY? YES. UM, I JUST WONDERED IF MS. BERRY COULD CLICK ON THE HERE BUTTON HERE. UM, THIS SHOULD TAKE, UH, THE, THE INTENTION OF THIS IS TO TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE WEBSITE, TO THE TRANSPARENCY PORT REPORT AREA. UM, THIS REPORT WOULD BE UNDER MONTHLY REPORTS AT THE TOP AND FY 26 AND THIS, SO WE HAVE FOUR YEARS OF DATA HERE, OR, UH, THOSE THAT, UM, AND SO YOU SEE AUGUST AND CLICK ON AUGUST, AND THAT WILL SHOW YOU THE, UM, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 75 OR 80 PAGES THIS MONTH. THIS IS THE EIGHT SEVEN, THE DETAIL. THESE ARE THE DETAILS THAT YOU, UH, THAT WE USED TO PRINT EVERY PAGE OF . BUT THOSE ARE ACCESSIBLE HERE, UH, DIRECTLY THROUGH THE LINK OF THE REPORT, BUT ALSO JUST GOING TO THE WEBSITE AND YOU COULD SEARCH ON TRANSPARENCY. SO THAT IS A WAY TO GET THERE VERY QUICKLY AND STILL HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THOSE DETAILS. SO THAT IS A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU DRILL DOWN. AND COULD WE CAPTURE THE PAST THAT YOU SUGGESTED? YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT NOW, BUT IN A DOCUMENT SO THAT ANYONE WANTING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT SEES HOW TO DRILL DOWN. AND THEN IN THESE FUTURE MEETINGS, WE WILL TALK ABOUT THIS NOT AT AD NAUSEUM, BUT ENOUGH SO THAT EVERYONE HAS A COMFORT LEVEL WITH HOW TO GET TO THESE DETAILED REPORTS, IF THAT'S OKAY. EVERYBODY OKAY WITH THAT? I SEE NO SHAKING HEADS. MR. CHAIRMAN? YES, SIR. MAY I MAKE A RECOMMENDATION? ABSOLUTELY. I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT EVERY MONTH WHEN THIS REPORT IS GIVEN, THAT THERE'LL BE ONE ITEM, UH, IDENTIFIED TO BE SHOWN, UH, IN DETAIL, FOR EXAMPLE MM-HMM . ONE MONTH. IT COULD BE, UH, SHOW US THE UTILITY BILLS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, UH, ANOTHER MONTH IT SHOW US, UH, WHAT, WHAT WE BOUGHT FROM STAPLES DURING, DURING THE MONTH, PICK ONE ITEM AND AND YOUR COMMITTEE SHOULD PICK THAT ITEM EVERY MONTH AND SAY, OKAY, NEXT MONTH, LOOK AT THE BUFORT JASPER WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY BILLS, AND THEN SHOW THAT DEEP DOWN WITH ALL THE, WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT, UH, PIECES IN THAT AND, AND ROTATE THAT THROUGHOUT [00:15:01] THE YEAR. GET ONE, ONE ITEM OF, OF A MAJOR IMPACT. JUST TO SHOW THAT WE DO TAKE A LINE BY LINE REVIEW, BUT IN VERY SPECIFIC AREAS. THAT'S A RECOMMENDATION FOR YOUR, UH, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. UH, I CERTAINLY APPROVE IT AND SUPPORT THAT. MS. CROSBY, ARE YOU COMFORTABLE, UH, MOVING THAT FORWARD FORTH? YES, SIR. YOU AND YOUR ILLUSTRIOUS TEAM? MM-HMM . YES, SIR. SOUNDS, SOUNDS GOOD. EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATION. COLONEL, ANY OTHERS? MS. FRA, UM, MS. HAY OR MS. GORDON? NO, SIR. MS. GORDON. IS SHE OKAY, MS. FRAZIER? NO, NO QUESTIONS. OKAY, GREAT. SO I THINK, I THINK THE POINT IS, IS THAT BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO BE EFFICIENT DOES NOT RELIEVE US OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OVERSIGHT AT A VERY LINE BY LINE, UH, LEVEL. SO WE ARE GONNA TRY TO MAKE IT AS EASY FOR THE GROUP IN COLLECTIVE SESSIONS. SO WE'RE ALL GOING THROUGH IT, AS A COLONEL ALLUDED TO, AND WE ALL WILL LEARN. BUT WHAT REALLY MAKES THIS PROCESS SO VITALLY IMPORTANT IS THE QUESTIONS OR THE INQUIRIES THAT COME FROM BOARD MEMBERS WHO HAVE REVIEWED THE MATERIALS BEFOREHAND AND COME UP WITH, UM, WITH POINTS OF CONSIDERATION. SO THANK YOU ALL WELL DONE. IF I MAY, JUST ONE SUGGESTION I DID THINK OF ABSOLUTELY, UM, PERHAPS JUST ROTATING IT, UM, MONTHLY BETWEEN WHOEVER THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE. SO FOR EXAMPLE, NOVEMBER, YOU TAKE THE, YOU KNOW, YOU RUN WITH THE EXAMPLE DECEMBER, I WOULD RUN WITH THE EXAMPLE JANUARY COULD BE MRS. GORDON, JUST TO MIX IT UP SO THAT EVERYONE'S CLEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT MONTH THEY'RE EXPECTED TO DIVE IN TO, YOU KNOW, DRILL DOWN ON A PARTICULAR ITEM. I CERTAINLY TOTALLY SUPPORT THAT. I THINK IT'S LEARNED BY DOING, AND IT HELPS SPREAD THE ACCOUNTABILITY. AND WE'RE NOT TRYING TO TRIP PEOPLE UP. WE'RE TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE ELEVATE IN TERMS OF THEIR SKILLSET. I KNOW I, LIKE I SAY, I'M A TECHNOPHOBE, A TECHNICAL DINOSAUR, BUT I FORCE MYSELF TO DO IT. SO I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA, BOTH OF THEM. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHERS? OKAY, MS. CROSBY? YES, SIR. UH, THE NEXT REPORT IS THE OS 13 R TWO. IT IS THE MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS UTILIZATION PLAN. UH, WE HAVE AN UPDATE TODAY TO THE REPORT. THIS REPORT TYPICALLY, OR IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE RULE, AND WE HAVE THAT, IT'S A, ABOUT A THREE PAGE, FOUR PAGE REPORT. UM, THAT IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE RULE THAT REQUIRE, THAT IS REQUIRED BY THE STATE PROCUREMENT CODE. UM, AND WE HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU TODAY. AND AT THE END OF THE, UM, COMMENTS, THE, THE PRESENTATION, WE WILL HAVE A MOTION FOR YOU. SO, TYPICALLY ADMINISTRATIVE RULES ARE NOT APPROVED BY THE BOARD. HOWEVER, THIS IS AN EXCEPTION TO THAT BECAUSE IT IS REQUIRED, ANY CHANGES TO THE PLAN ARE REQUIRED TO BE APPROVED BY THE BOARD. SO, UH, IF APPROVAL, THAT WOULD GO THROUGH, UM, CONSENT AGENDA, UH, OR RECOMMENDED TO THE BOARD AND THEN GO THROUGH CONSENT AGENDA. SO, UH, I'M GONNA ASK MS. JINGER TO, UM, EXPLAIN THOSE CHANGES THAT WE HAVE TODAY FOR YOU AND, UH, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HER. THANK YOU MRS. CROSBY. UM, THE FOLLOWING EDITION OF OS 13 R CLARIFIES THAT THE ANNUAL APPROVAL OF THE MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS UTILIZATION PLAN IS NOT REQUIRED. YOU COULD SCROLL DOWN FOR ME THERE, ROBIN. THANK YOU. UM, UNDER, UNLESS REVISIONS ARE PROPOSED, SO WE'VE HAD SOME RECENT AUDITS THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE STATES WHERE THE PROCUREMENT CODE REQUIRES THAT, UM, THE OS 13 R TWO BE APPROVED ANNUALLY BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. UM, THIS PLAN HASN'T CHANGED. THIS IS OUR SAME INITIATIVE, OUR SAME OUTREACH. WE DON'T WANNA CHANGE OUR GOAL OF 10%, WHICH IS REQUIRED BY THE STATE. WE WANT TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITH WHAT WE HAVE. UM, SO IN ORDER TO REMAIN AUDIT COMPLIANT AND PROCUREMENT CODE COMPLIANT, WE WOULD LIKE FOR THIS, UM, OS 13 R TO REMAIN APPROVED BY THE BOARD UNLESS THERE ARE ANY MATERIAL CHANGES. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS BY ADDING THE LANGUAGE THAT SAYS THIS PLAN FULLY COMPLIES WITH THE STANDARD SPECIFIED BY SC CODE 11 DASH 35 52 40 OF THE BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PROCUREMENT CODE, [00:20:02] AND WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT AS WRITTEN, ANNUAL BOARD APPROVAL IS NOT REQUIRED UNLESS SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS ARE PROPOSED. SHOULD MATERIAL CHANGES BECOME NECESSARY, THE REVISED MBE UTILIZATION PLAN MUST BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL ON OR PRIOR TO THE FIRST BOARD MEETING ON OR AFTER JULY 30TH. SO THIS WOULD KEEP, IF SOMETHING WAS TO HAPPEN, UM, AND THERE WAS A CHANGE COMING, THE BOARD WOULD NOT BE FORCED TO MAKE A CHANGE SO EARLY, IT COULD BE MADE ANY TIME OF THE YEAR. UM, AND WE ARE NOT SET TO BRING IT TO THE BOARD EVERY SINGLE SUMMER BEFORE JULY 30TH, UM, RUNNING A RISK OF NOT BEING COMPLIANT. SO THIS WOULD KEEP US COMPLIANT NO MATTER WHAT, AND GIVE THE BOARD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THE MBE UTILIZATION PLAN AS NEEDED. OKAY. ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, MS. GORDON? NONE FROM ME, SIR. OH, SORRY. MS. HAY, PLEASE PROCEED. YES, MA'AM. OH, NO, I WAS JUST SAYING I DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. HER, THE MOTION SOUNDS REASONABLE. NO PROBLEM, MS. GORDON. OKAY. UM, JUST ONE QUESTION, MS. YER. YES, SIR. UM, IS THERE A DUE DATE BY WHICH THE BOARD WOULD STILL HAVE TO BE NOTIFIED IF A CHANGE OCCURS? IF ANY MATERIAL CHANGES OCCURRED, THE BOARD WOULD BE NOTIFIED. AND MRS. CROSBY, PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT WOULD STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THEN WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE FULL RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD FOR A FULL BOARD VOTE. THE PROCUREMENT CODE REQUIRES THAT THE MBE UTILIZATION PLAN IS APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN APPROVE AT OUR LEVEL. SO ANY CHANGES WOULD STILL GO THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNELS. UM, AND THIS WOULD GIVE YOU, INSTEAD OF BEING FORCED INTO THAT JULY 30TH TIMELINE, WE COULD HAVE TIME TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES, BRING IT TO THE BOARD, AND THEN WE'LL BE DONE BEFORE THE NEXT JULY 30TH TIMELINE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. OKAY. OKAY. SO, OKAY. JUST TRY TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS A FOLLOW UP MECHANISM IN PLACE, AND CLEARLY THERE IS. YES, SIR. DONE WELL. OKAY. THANK YOU MA'AM. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? MS. FRAZIER? COLONEL GEIER? NO COMMENT SIR. NO COMMENTS AT MOMENT? OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH MS. YING, MADAM. CFO MOVING FORWARD. MA'AM, I NEED, UM, WE NEED THE SOMEONE TO MAKE THE MOTION TO MOVE IT TO THE FULL BOARD. YES, SIR. IS THERE A RECOMMENDATION? MS? UM, I HAVE IT ON THE SCREEN IF SOMEBODY CAN READ IT. MS. HAY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ THAT? HOLD ON. I'M TRYING TO READ IT. IT'S SO SMALL. I'LL MAKE IT BIGGER. CAN YOU SEE IT? ? HOLD ON. TRYING TO TURN MY PHONE. AGE IS A REAL THING. CAN , OH, I MOVED THAT. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE APPROVAL OF REVISIONS TO OS DASH 13 R TWO MINORITY WOMEN BUSINESS UTILIZATION PLAN. OKAY, IS THERE A SECOND? MS. GORDON? DO YOU SECOND IF YOU WOULD RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU DO, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SECOND IT. MS. GORDON, I SEE YOUR EAR. . THANK YOU. SHE RAISED HER HAND. OKAY. THANK YOU MS. GORDON. IT'S BEEN PROPERLY, UH, MOTIONS. AND SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. A AYE. AYE. OKAY. PASSES UNANIMOUSLY BY THE COMMITTEE. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. OKAY, MADAM. CFO. YES, SIR. THE NEXT ITEM IS A BUDGET UPDATE. UM, I'LL LET THIS CUSHION BERRY CATCH UP HERE. SHE HAS A LOT OF, A LOT OF WORK TO DO DURING THESE MEETINGS AND WITH THE, UH, WITH THE MOTIONS, SO WE'LL GIVE HER A MOMENT. NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL. THERE IT GOES. ALRIGHT, SO THIS IS AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WE WANTED TO BRING BEFORE YOU, UM, THAT WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCED THAT WE HAVE, UM, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS COMPLETED THE FISCAL YEAR 25 26 BUDGET BOOK. UM, THE DOCUMENT IS ON THE WEBSITE AND IT CAN BE FOUND AT THE LINK THAT WE HAVE HERE. UM, YOU CAN CLICK ON THAT LINK, BUT YOU COULD ALSO SEARCH ON BUDGET IN THE SEARCH ENGINE OF THE WEBSITE. UH, AND IF YOU SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE FURTHER, IT'S UNDER THE BUDGET, UH, A LITTLE, LITTLE MORE, UH, ANNUAL BUDGET BOOKS THAT THE BUDGET UPDATE THERE ABOVE IS, IS JUST A SUMMARY. IT'S A ONE PAGER. [00:25:01] SO THIS IS THE ENTIRE 215 PAGE BOOK. AND, UM, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IT. IT DOES TAKE A WHILE TO COMPILE, ALTHOUGH WE, WE COMPILE IT THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE BUDGET YEAR. EVERY DOCUMENT, MANY OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE SHOW YOU DURING THE BUDGET PRESENTATIONS LAND IN THIS BUDGET BOOK, UH, AND THEN SOME. SO WE PROVIDE ANO, UH, THE INFORMATION. THERE'S CERTAIN INFORMATION OR CRITERIA THAT ARE REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR THE GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BUDGET PRESENTATION. AND SO THIS DOCUMENT COMPLIES WITH THAT. AND WE HAVE SUBMITTED IT FOR REVIEW BY THE GFOA WHO'S A, WE USE THAT ORGANIZATION AS A BEST PRACTICES ORGANIZATION, KIND OF THE KEY ORGANIZATION TO, UH, FOR, FOR GOVERNMENTS TO, UH, AND THEIR FINANCES AND THEIR BUDGETING. UM, THOSE, THIS ORGANIZATION PROVIDES US CONTINUING EDUCATION AND THEY ALSO PROVIDE THIS AWARD PROGRAM TO HONOR, UM, UH, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE NATION THAT, UH, SUBMIT DOCUMENT, SUBMIT A BUDGET DOCUMENT. SO, UM, IF THIS, UH, WE, SO WE SHOULD HEAR BACK WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO. UM, AND IF AWARDED THIS HONOR, IT WOULD BE THE 13TH TIME THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS RECEIVED THIS AWARD. SO, UM, IT WOULD BE A VERY, UM, A PRESTIGIOUS, UH, ACCOMPLISHMENT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. AND, UM, WE, AND WE BELIEVE THAT IT WILL, UM, THAT THAT WILL COME JUST IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, CELEBRATE THAT ACCOMPLISHMENT. UH, SO, UH, BASICALLY, UH, WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD, WE ARE, UH, IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING, GETTING IT PRINTED. UM, NOW BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF COLOR PAGES ON THIS DOCUMENT IS QUITE EXPENSIVE, SO WE KEEP IT TO A MINIMUM. SO WE WILL PROVIDE, UM, SOME COLOR COPIES FOR THE BOARD, THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND, UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, FOR A COUPLE OF US IN THE DISTRICT OFFICE. SO WE'LL KEEP IT AT A MINIMUM, KEEP THE COST DOWN, BUT, UM, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF IT. UH, MISS, I WANNA DO A SHOUT OUT. MAKE A SHOUT OUT TO MOLLY MERCADO, WHO TOOK THE, THE DOCUMENT AND FORMATTED IT IN A WAY THAT LOOKED VERY MODERN AND THE PICTURES ARE VERY VIBRANT AND THE FORMAT JUST LOOKS REALLY GOOD. OH, LET ME STOP YOU HERE, ROBIN. UH, IF YOU CLICK ON ANY ONE OF THOSE ITEMS IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE PAGE. CLICK THERE, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE PAGE IN THE BOOK THAT IS, IS IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. SO IT IS, HY HAS HYPERLINKED TO EVERY SINGLE SE SECTION THAT IS LABELED IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. UM, BUT WE ARE REALLY PROUD OF IT. AND, UM, KATIE ABAR AND HER TEAM, LOU ACKERMAN, JIMMY, UH, LEVI WORKED REALLY HARD ON THIS AND, UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. NOW WE DO REALIZE THAT IT'S RELATIVELY LATE IN THE YEAR, AND OUR GOAL NEXT YEAR IS TO, UM, GET, THINK, GET IT OUT A LITTLE SOONER. AND THE WAY WE CAN DO THAT IS REMOVING SOME DUPLICATIONS INSIDE OF IT AND OTHER AREAS THAT MAY NOT BE AS NECESSARY OR REQUIRED OF THE, OF THE, UM, THE GFOA. SO IT MAY NOT, AND WE'RE HOPING IT WON'T BE 215 PAGES NEXT YEAR, BUT, UH, IN ORDER TO DO THAT AND GET IT OUT A LITTLE SOONER, WE'LL NEED TO CONDENSE IT A BIT. SO THAT'S OUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT YEAR, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S OUT. UM, JUST A FEW, UM, UH, PERHAPS BY EARLY SEP EARLY TO MID SEPTEMBER. UM, SO WE'RE NOT SO FAR IN THE, IN THE YEAR, BUT, UH, IT IS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION. MANY OF THE, MUCH OF THE INFORMATION IS CONSISTENT YEAR AFTER YEAR. THE, THE PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH, THE TYPES OF FUNDS WE HAVE, UM, UH, THE FUNDING SOURCES AND WHAT PERCENTAGES THOSE ARE OF THE WHOLE BUDGET AND HOW WE GO ABOUT GETTING STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. SO, UM, AND, UH, SO, UH, THAT'S ALL I HAVE AS FAR AS A SUMMARY OF THAT. I JUST WANTED TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT AND LET YOU KNOW THAT IT'S THERE AND WE WILL PROVIDE SOME COPIES FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DO WOULD LIKE A BOUND COPY, I'M SURE EVERYONE ON THIS, UH, GROUP PROBABLY WOULD, WOULD GET ONE. UM, BUT IT IS, IT'S A GOOD RESOURCE, SO, ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MADAM. CFO, UH, MS. HAY, I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING ON THIS TOPIC. GREAT WORK. ONCE AGAIN. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MA'AM. MS. GORDON, [00:30:02] I THINK I SAW HER, UH, RAISE HER FA THUMB. GIVE A THUMBS UP. YES, SHE HAD A THUMBS UP. PERFECT. PERFECT. THANK YOU MS. GORDON. UH, MS. FRAZIER JUST WANNA SAY AMAZING WORK AND CONGRATULATIONS ALREADY. THANK YOU, COLONEL GUYER. YES, SIR. THIS IS MY COPY FOR LAST YEAR WITH TABS. I TAKE THIS WITH ME WHENEVER I GO TO, TO, UH, ADDRESS THE PUBLIC ALONG WITH THE ANNUAL FACILITIES PLAN. IT IS INVALUABLE. THIS HAS EVERYTHING YOU'D EVER WANT TO KNOW, AND IT BECOMES REALLY GREAT WAY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND TO PROVIDE THE PEOPLE THAT I'M SPEAKING TO A, THE KIND OF DETAIL THAT WE MONITOR IN OUR THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET EVERY YEAR TO GIVE CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO. AND I JUST SAW A NEWS RELEASE SAYING THAT THE STATE BOARD WANTS TO PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON THE BUDGET AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE. WELL, I WANNA SHOW THEM THIS. YEP. SO THEY DON'T EVEN BOTHER DON'T EVEN SNIFF AROUND US , BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T NEED THEIR HELP. WE'RE WE GOT IT UNDER CONTROL. THIS IS FANTASTIC AND CONGRATULATIONS FOR KEEPING IT GOING. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OUT OUTSTANDING FOLKS. MR. SMITH HAS JOINED US ONLINE AS WELL. HI, MR. SMITH. HE IS, HE'S MUTED. OKAY. SO WE ACKNOWLEDGE MR. SMITH'S PRESENCE, UH, MOVE. UH, IS THAT, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ON THE BUDGET BOOK BEFORE I I WEIGH IN WITH A REQUEST? MS. MADAM. CFO? NO, SIR. UM, MS. CROSBY, CAN YOU, UH, NOT CROSBY, UH, MS. CUSHING, BERRY, TWO C'S THERE? MM-HMM . UH, CAN YOU MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO SEE IF YOU CAN PULL UP THE DOCUMENT I SHARED? IF NOT, I'LL, I'LL READ FROM THE SPECIFIC PAGES IN THE EXISTING BUDGET BOOK, UM, THE TRANSPARENCY SUMMARY, THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU EMAILED. YES. THIS ONE SHOULD BE ON THE BUDGET BOOK. OKAY. IF I DIDN'T, IF I SENT THAT INTO CYBERSPACE. NO PROBLEM. SO IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE BUDGET BOOK, I'LL CITE THE SPECIFIC PAGES, AND IF YOU CAN PULL THOSE UP AND JUST WANNA BRIEFLY SHOW HOW THERE'S ONE WAY OF ACTUALLY MAKING SURE WE ARCHIVE, UH, WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE BUDGET BOOK. OKAY. SO IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN GO TO PAGE 77 0, LET'S SEE THAT PAGE. YES, MA'AM. SEVEN ZERO. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I ENCOUNTERED IN GOING THROUGH THIS PAGE BY PAGE AND MAKING MY COMMENTS, UM, IS THAT THERE'S SO MUCH INFORMATION, AND AS BOARD MEMBERS, WE GET A LOT OF INSIGHT AND GUIDANCE AND COMMENTARY COMING INTO US. THIS BUDGET BOOK, AS THE COLONEL ALLUDED TO, AND OTHERS, UH, MS. CROSBY HAS HELPED INFORM ME IS THAT THIS IS SUCH A DOCUMENT TO BASICALLY LEARN AND RETAIN SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP. SO WE CAN ALSO PUSH INFORMATION FROM THE DISTRICT AND THE BOARD INTO THE COMMUNITY. SO THAT'S, THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE CHARTS LOCATED, THE INFORMATION THAT THEY, THEY CONTAIN. UH, IF YOU WILL THEN GO TO PAGE, UH, ONE 15. YES. OKAY. AND SO IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA, WHAT I STARTED SEEING ARE, ARE SPECIFICS. SO IF SOMEONE IS COMING TO US ABOUT A PARTICULAR SCHOOL, IT'S VERY EASY TO LOOK UP AND GET INFORMATION ON THAT PARTICULAR SCHOOL. NOW, I KNOW IN, IN TRAVELING WITH COLONEL GEIER, HE'S ACTUALLY PRINTED HARD COPIES, SO HE HAS THEM READILY AVAILABLE IF THERE'S NO TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE. AND SO THAT'S ONE ANOTHER WAY, A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY OF PULLING UP. SO, UH, MME. CROSBY, CAN YOU SHARE, UH, TAKE US TO WHERE THEY HAVE THE, UH, NUMBER, EACH SCHOOL [00:35:01] HAS ITS OWN PAGE AND, UH, WE'LL SH GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT. UM, I THINK IT, I THINK IT'S PAGE 83 THROUGH 1 1 15, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. I DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFIC PAGES, BUT, UH, WE COULD, LET'S SEE. UM, I WOULD SUGGEST GOING TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. OKAY. I'LL FOLLOW YOUR LINK AND LET'S FIND IT THERE. UM, SO IT'S GONNA BE ON LIKE PAGE THREE YOU WANT, MAY WANNA START WITH, UM, ROBIN. YEAH, I WOULD GO TO, AND THEN WE SCROLL DOWN TILL WE GET TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. UH, IT'S GOING TO BE LATER IN THE DOCUMENT, UM, UH, PROJECTED SCHOOL, IS IT, IS IT SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE ON THE NUMBER TWO? I'M NOT SURE. YES. THAT, THAT MAY BE IT. MM-HMM . UH, NOPE, THAT'S NOT, UH, CAN YOU SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE PA BEYOND THAT PAGE AND LET'S SEE, UM, TO THE NEXT PAGES AND SEE. NO. OKAY. WE'LL NEED TO GO BACK TO, YOU CAN KEEP SCROLLING AND SEE IF THOSE, THE, THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS COME UP, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT. UM, I DON'T HAVE A BOOK WITH ME, SO I NOT A PROBLEM. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO BACK TO THE TABLE AND WE'LL SEE IF IT'S THERE. UM, GO BACK, KEEP GOING AND KEEP GOING. SCHOOL PROFILES. THERE WE GO. UM, CLICK ON SCHOOL PROFILE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. THERE WE GO. THERE WE GO. IF YOU CAN SCROLL UP A LITTLE BIT, MS. UM, OKAY. SO IN A GLANCE, THIS BUDGET BOOK, IF I'M IN, I AM IN DISTRICT EIGHT. SO ANY OF THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE A PART OF DISTRICT EIGHT, THEY'RE SERVED BY DISTRICT EIGHT, OR THEY HAVE A PHYSICAL FACILITY IN DISTRICT EIGHT, SOMEONE POSES THE QUESTION AS A BOARD MEMBER, WE CAN GO AUTOMATICALLY TO THAT SPECIFIC SCHOOL AND ANSWER A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE MAY BE POSING TO US. SO ALL 33 SCHOOLS HAVE A LISTING. UH, THE DUSKY SCHOOL, IF I RECALL CORRECTLY, ON HILTON HEAD, IS FOLDED INTO HILTON HEAD ELEMENTARY, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. SO ALL OF THAT DATA IS THERE. AGAIN, MY EPIPHANY WAS, WOW, ALL OF THIS IS RIGHT HERE. AND, AND SO WE JUST AS WE, AS WE BECOME MORE EFFICIENT IN THE SUMMARY DOCUMENTS, WE ALSO DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE GRANULARITY ON ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S BELOW THERE. SO JUST WANTED TO, UH, SHARE THAT AS AN EXAMPLE AND AS READING THROUGH IT, UH, ON PAGE 1 44, IF YOU CAN GO THERE, MS. UH, CUSHING BERRY, AGAIN, THE TIDBITS OF INFORMATION THAT WERE IN THE BUDGET BOOK THAT I WAS NOT AWARE OF, THAT'S MY FAULT, IS THE BILATERAL SEAL. AND IT'S NOTED THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE ARE THE SECOND FASTEST GROWING DISTRICT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, CAROLINA. SO THOSE TYPES OF BITS OF INFORMATION WHERE PEOPLE ARE SAYING, WELL, HOW IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOING SO MUCH INFORMATION THERE. AND IF YOU'LL TURN TO, I HAVE 1 47 PAGE 1 47. SO I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE TALKING TO US ABOUT, WELL, WE SHOULD HAVE MORE ARTS. AND YOU SEE FROM WHERE MS. CUSHING BEAR JUST TURNED FROM, ARTS IS ONE OF THE AREAS OF FOCUS. AND SO THAT, THAT BECOMES VERY, VERY, UH, GOOD TO HAVE ALL OF THIS AT YOUR, AT YOUR DISPOSAL. SO JUST WANTED TO SHARE HOW IMPORTANT THIS BOOK IS AND TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT, UH, COLONEL GUYER AND MS. HAY MENTIONED ABOUT IN THESE MEETINGS GOING FORWARD. SINCE WE ARE BECOMING VERY EFFICIENT IN OUR TIME, EVEN MORE EFFICIENT IN OUR TIME, WE CAN ACTUALLY HELP EACH OTHER LEARN AS WE GO FORWARD. UH, SO LET ME STOP THERE AND ASK FOR ANY COMMENTS, COMMENTARY, GUIDANCE, WHAT HAVE YOU. OKAY. I HEAR SILENCE. SO, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN? YES, SIR. [00:40:01] THERE, THERE'S ONE OTHER, UH, PIECE NOW THAT WE'RE GETTING TO CLOSE OUT. MS. CROSBY SHOULD KNOW THIS SPREADSHEET, AND THIS TAKES THE DATA THAT'S IN THAT BUDGET BOOK, BUT PUTS IT BY EACH SCHOOL SALARIES, BENEFITS, SERVICES, SUPPLIES, OTHER TOTAL 45 DAY ENROLLMENT, COST PER STUDENT TITLE ONE AND AVERAGE STEP FOR TEACHERS. THIS IS ONE PAGE THAT I CAN TAKE, AND I USE THIS ALL THE TIME. HMM. BECAUSE THIS, THIS IN ONE PAGE SHOWS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT OUR MOST CHALLENGING SCHOOLS, WE ARE PROVIDING RESOURCES IN THE TERMS OF SALARIES, BENEFITS, TEACHERS, SUPPLIES AND EVERYTHING. AND IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO COMPARE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS TO K TO EIGHT AND HIGH SCHOOLS. IT IS ALL IN THIS BUDGET BOOK, BUT IT'S ALL IN INDIVIDUAL PAGES. MM-HMM . THIS BRINGS UP THE COMPARISON AND IT IS EXTREMELY USEFUL TOOL FOR A ONE PAGE, ONE SHOT LOOK AT THE DISTRICT AND WHERE WE STAND. SO I, I HOPE WE WILL CONTINUE NOW THAT, THAT, UH, WE, WE'VE GOT OUR AUDIT ABOUT DONE, AND WE'VE GOT THE, THE, THE, UH, FIGURES FOR THE PAST FISCAL YEAR TO BE ABLE TO REFILL THIS SPREADSHEET WITH THE UPDATED, UH, DATA. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT. AND I'VE SEEN HOW YOU UTILIZE THAT INFORMATION, COLONEL, AND IT'S VERY EFFECTIVE. SO ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, MS. CROSBY. YOU, UM, UM, YOU OKAY WITH EVERYTHING SO FAR? YES, SIR. OKAY. IF I COULD GO TO PAGE, LAST PAGE I'LL ASK IS PAGE 1, 6 0. AND, UH, IN THIS PARTICULAR PAGE, THE COMMENT I MADE IS, IS THE FIVE YEAR PROJECTION, IF THAT'S, IF I'M ON THE RIGHT PAGE. UM, THIS IS ABOUT FUND BALANCE. UH, I THINK FUND BALANCE IS 1 58, COUPLE OF ONES DOWN. I TOOK DOWN 1 58, SO IT MAY BE A COUPLE PAGES DOWN HIGHER, HIGHER THAN, UH, 1 58. AM I GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? I THINK YOU ARE, YES. FIVE YEAR REVENUES. AND I THOUGHT A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE ARE ARE ASKING ABOUT WHAT'S, WHAT'S, WHERE'S THE FUNDING COMING FROM? AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SPEAK FROM THAT. IF YOU'LL LOOK AT THAT FIRST, UH, FIVE YEARS, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE LOCAL REVENUES HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW. AND YOU ALSO WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THE, I MEAN, THE DEEP DECLINE IN FEDERAL FUNDING, WHICH MEANS THAT SOMEHOW AS WE GO FORWARD, SEEKING OUT EFFICIENCIES WITHOUT CONSTRAINING THE EDUCATIONAL DELIVERY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THAT IS GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR US. SO JUST THINKING FORWARD, WHAT WE PROBABLY WILL ENCOUNTER. UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS FOR US TO, UH, KEEP IN MIND. AND, AND ANOTHER, JUST ONE MORE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO USE ALL THIS EXCELLENT DATA THAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET BOOK. SO WITH THAT, UM, MME. CROSBY, BOARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBERS, UH, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU FOR THE NEXT TOPIC. MME. CROSBY, IF THAT'S OKAY? YES, SIR. ALL RIGHT. THE NEXT TOPIC IS AN AUDIT UPDATE. ALL YOURS, MA'AM. OKAY. UH, GIMME A SECOND. I'M GETTING THERE. YEP. NOT A PROBLEM, MS. ALL RIGHT. SO AS WE, UH, ARE CON, UH, COMPLETING OUR WORK WITH THE BUDGET BOOK, UH, WE HAVE ALREADY, UH, WE'VE OVERLAPPED, UH, ANOTHER LARGE PROJECT THAT OUR DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND THAT IS THE AUDIT OR THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL CLOSING OR, AND REPORTING. SO ALL OF THOSE GO HAND IN HAND. WE ARE CLOSING, WE HAVE CLOSED THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE MOST PART. WE STILL, I THINK WE HAD ONE MORE ENTRY TODAY, UM, [00:45:01] AND HAVE TURNED OVER THINGS, UH, A TRIAL BALANCE, WHICH IS THE LIST OF ALL OF THE ACCOUNTS OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL DISTRICT, INCLUDING ALL OF THE BUDGETS. UM, THOSE WERE DELIVERED ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH. AND THEN F FINAL JOURNAL ENTRIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. BUT AS WE, UM, DO SOME FINAL RECONCILIATIONS, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD ONE MORE SMALL JOURNAL ENTRY TODAY, AND THOSE WILL BE DELIVERED, UM, UH, TO THE AUDITORS MOST LIKELY TOMORROW. UM, SO WE DO HAVE SOME SPECIALIZED SCHEDULES THAT ARE VERY LARGE VOLUMES OF INFORMATION THAT WE ARE STILL PROVIDING AND STILL WORKING ON, UM, THAT INCLUDES AND STAFF ARE FINALIZING THOSE. UH, THEY ARE IN THE AREAS OF FIXED ASSETS. SO THAT'S EVERY ASSET OVER $5,000 IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THE VOLUME OF THAT. UM, AND, UH, WE HAVE A STATISTICAL SECTION IN THE BACK OF OUR AUDIT REPORT OR FINANCIAL REPORT THAT TALKS ABOUT ECONOMIC DATA, DI DEMOGRAPHIC, GEOGRAPHIC EVERY, YOU KNOW, ECONOMIC, ANY, ANYTHING RELATING TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE ECONOMY. UM, AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT THAT IMPACT OUR FINANCES. ALSO, THERE IS A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL THAT I PROVIDE, THAT I'M WORKING ON THAT'S, UH, UH, THE MEMO IN THE VERY FRONT OF THE BOOK. IT KIND OF SUMMARIZES THE BUDGET PROCESS AND THE BUDGET, UM, WHERE WE ARE IN THE BUDGET. AND, UH, THEN WE HAVE A LENGTHY, UH, PROBABLY 10 TO 13 PAGE REPORT. THAT'S A MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS. SO THIS IS, LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE IN THE BUDGET. IT HAS NARRATIVES AND GRAPHS AND CHARTS AND TABLES AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS WHERE WE ANALYZE ALL OF THE NUMBERS IN, IN THE, UH, FINANCIALS, FINANCIALS, UH, WHICH DOES TAKE SOME TIME. AND THEN THERE'S A NEW GOVERNMENTAL CANNING, GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARD, I BELIEVE IT'S NUMBER 1 0 1, UH, GSB. UH, AND THAT IS ON COMPENSATED ABSENCES. AND THERE'S A VERY COMPLICATED, UH, PROCESS OF CAPTURING EMPLOYEES LEAVE AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE PROJECTED TO USE UNTIL THEY RETIRE OR LEAVE THE DISTRICT AT SOME POINT IN TIME. SO THAT WILL BE A NEW, UH, COMPONENT AS WELL THAT WE'RE FINISHING UP. BASICALLY THOSE, UM, MAJOR COMPLEX, UM, SCHEDULES, AUDITORS, UH, MAY BE COMING IN IN THE OFFICE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, NOT THIS COMING WEEK, BUT THE FOLLOWING. UM, AND SO THEY'LL BE DOING SOME FINAL WORK. WE'RE ACTUALLY, WE'RE STILL GATHERING, UM, THEY, UH, HAVE US GET, UH, REPORTS, RESPONSES BACK FROM EVERY ATTORNEY THAT WE'VE DONE BUSINESS WITH THIS YEAR AND WHAT CASES MAY BE, UH, THEY MAY HAVE WORKED ON. UH, SO THAT'S A REPORT FROM EVERY SINGLE ONE. SO THERE'S A LOT OF STILL THINGS, UM, REQUESTS, UM, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, CONFIRMATIONS, REVENUE CONFIRMATIONS, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS ARE STILL OCCURRING. AND, UM, WE, THE DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 1ST. UH, WE ARE, WE BELIEVE WE'RE ABOUT TWO TO THREE WEEKS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. UH, IF WE CAN WRAP UP SOME OF THESE MAJOR NARRATIVE REPORTS, UH, THAT WILL HELP, UH, HELP US. BUT WE ANTICIPATE RECEIVING A DRAFT OR EARLY IN NOVEMBER, SO WITHIN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS OR SO, THEN WE HAVE TO REVIEW THAT. IT'S ABOUT 200 PAGES. UH, SO WE'LL HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE SPLITTING THAT UP AND, AND, UH, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT AREAS SO WE'RE MORE EFFICIENT. AND THEN THE TARGET DATE FOR US, UM, FINALIZING THE REPORT IS THE DAY BEFORE WE LEAVE FOR, UM, WELL, THE FRIDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING, SO THAT WE'RE ABLE TO WRAP UP ANY NICE THINGS THAT MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND THEN WE'RE OUT OF THE OFFICE AND WE CAN ACTUALLY ENJOY THE HOLIDAY. NOT WORK ON THE, UH, FINANCIAL. SO WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT LAST YEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS. UH, AND OUR, THAT IS OUR GOAL FOR THIS YEAR IS TO WRAP THINGS UP BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. UM, SO, UH, SO WE JUST HAVE NEXT STEPS ARE JUST TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT ANY REMAINING SCHEDULES TO THE AUDITORS. WE'LL REVIEW AND RESPOND TO ANY AUDITOR INQUIRIES AND ADJUSTMENTS. THEY STILL HAVE SAMPLES THAT THEY'RE PULLING AND WE'RE PROVIDING DETAILED DOCUMENTS FOR THEM. UM, AND THEN WE'LL DO A FINAL PRESENTATION AND DISTRIBUTE THE, UH, ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT ON THE WEBSITE BY DECEMBER 1ST. UH, WE'LL SEND TO, THERE'S A SERIES OF STEPS OF THINGS WE HAVE TO DO FOR THE STATE DEPARTMENT. SEVERAL, UH, THIS REPORT AND SEVERAL OTHERS ALONG WITH, UH, THAT. AND THEN, UM, SO BY DECEMBER 1ST WE SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED THAT WORK. SO, [00:50:01] UH, THAT, AND THEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO BREATHE FOR ABOUT ONE DAY, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE BUDGET . SO, UH, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION ON THAT. UH, THERE ARE NO MOTIONS REQUESTED. JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD WAS UPDATED ON WHERE WE ARE IN THAT PROCESS. ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, MS. GORDON OR MS. HAY? NONE FROM ME. JUST DIGESTING EVERYTHING I HEARD AND GLAD THAT THEY WILL HAVE SOME DOWNTIME FOR THANKSGIVING. ABSOLUTELY. MS. GORDON. MS. GORDON, SHE SHAKE, SHOOK HER HEAD AND SAID THERE'S NO QUESTIONS. OKAY, SO SHE'S GIVEN THE THUMBS UP AGAIN. THANK YOU, MS. GORDON , UH, MS. FRAZIER, COLONEL GEIER? SHE'S, SHE'S MUTED. OKAY. COLONEL GEIER, EXCELLENT REPORT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, MADAM. CFO, UH, MR. SMITH IS ON AS WELL, BUT HE IS MUTED. OKAY, MR. SMITH? NO, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS. THANKS FOR ASKING. THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENCE, MR. SMITH. APPRECIATE IT. NO PROBLEM. ALRIGHT, MADAM, CFO MOVING FORWARD, MA'AM, I HAVE ONE FINAL UPDATE. OKAY. AND THIS IS ON THE DEBT SERVICE FUND, AND I DO WANNA, UH, I DO HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I, UH, SENT THE WRONG REPORT TO MS. CUSHEN BERRY INITIALLY. SO ANYONE WHO RECEIVED A PAPER REPORT MAY NOT BE SEEING THE SAME INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE PRESENTING ON THE SCREEN TODAY. SO, UH, THIS IS ABOUT A BOND REFUNDING OR REFINANCING THE 2015 B. UM, ANYONE WHO RECEIVED A PAPER REPORT MAY HAVE RECEIVED SOMETHING ABOUT AN 8% BOND. THAT ONE WAS DONE PREVIOUSLY IN A PREVIOUS COMMITTEE MEETING. SO I, UH, DID, UH, SEND THE WRONG REPORT. AND THAT'S, UH, THAT IS, I OWN THAT ONE TODAY, . UM, SO WORKING WITH OUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND OUR BOND COUNCIL, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN MONITORING, UM, UH, WELL, LET ME BACK UP. THERE IS A BOARD POLICY THAT REQUIRES US TO ACTIVELY MONITOR ANY POTENTIAL BOND FU FUNDINGS OR REFINANCINGS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO UTILIZE ANY SAVINGS IN THE CHANGE IN INTEREST RATES. AND THIS IS, WE HAVE, UH, FOUND THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH A, AN OLDER BOND 2015, 2015 SERIES B. AND, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A THRESHOLD OF SAVINGS. IF WE DON'T, CANNOT ACHIEVE MORE THAN A MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS OF SAVINGS, WE DO NOT REFINANCE A BOND BECAUSE THERE ARE BOND ISSUE COSTS AND OTHER, OTHER COSTS AS WELL. SO, AND TIME CONSTRAINTS, UH, IS, ARE INVOLVED. SO WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT OPPORTUNITY HAS TO BE ABOVE $1.5 MILLION MARK BEFORE WE EVEN, UH, ENTERTAIN THE IDEA OF REFINANCING A BOND. UH, SO WE DID, UM, THAT OPPORTUNITY DID COME AVAILABLE RECENTLY. UH, THE BOND MARKET, UH, I THINK THE FED RATE WAS CUT RIGHT SOON. UM, BUT RIGHT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, UH, I THINK THE JOBS NUMBERS WERE COMING OUT. THERE WERE A KEY SERIES OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS, AND THE MARKETS, UH, BECAME SUCH THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GENERATE MORE THAN THE $1.5 MILLION IN SAVINGS. SO WE CLOSED ON THAT BOND, UH, ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST. UH, WE SOLD IT ON, UM, SEPTEMBER 8TH. IT WAS PURCHASED BY KEYBANK CAPITAL MARKETS. UM, IT PAID OFF 2015 B SERIES. IT IS A LONG-TERM BOND. UH, IT IS AN INTEREST RATE REDUCTION OF 1.2%. SO WE WENT FROM 3.6% TO 2.4%, AND IT SAVED $1.6 MILLION OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IN THE DEBT SERVICE AREA. UH, CREDIT RATING. WE DID NOT HAVE TO GO OUT FOR ANOTHER CREDIT RATING, WHICH DOES SAVE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FUNDING. UM, WE STAYED, MAINTAINED OUR AA ONE RATING WITH MOODY'S AND, UH, AA, AA OR AA, UM, CAPITALIZED WITH S AND P STUDENT STANDARD AND POORS. SO WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT THERE WAS A REFUNDING. UM, THE, THEIR, THE, UM, ATTORNEYS AND THE FINANCIAL ADVISORS ARE HANDLING THAT FOR US AT THIS POINT. UH, IT INVOLVES ESCROW ACCOUNTS AND A LOT OF DOCUMENTATION TO SUPPORT, UM, THOSE BO, UH, NEW BOND SERIES AND DEFEATING THE OLD ONES. SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, LET YOU KNOW THAT WE DID HAVE A, A GREAT RESULT AND SAVE TAXPAYERS $1.6 MILLION. SO WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE [00:55:01] ANY QUESTIONS, MS. GORDON OR MS. HAY? NOTHING. THAT IS FANTASTIC NEWS. CONGRATULATIONS. UM, MS. GORDON CLAP, SIR IS CLAPPING HER HANDS. SO FROM THE THUMBS UP TO THE CLAP. WAY TO GO. . UM, MS. FRAZIER, I JUST AM IN AWE OF ALL THE WORK YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO IN THAT DEPARTMENT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MS. FRAZIER. COLONEL GEIER, NOTHING. THANK YOU, MS. CROSBY. I THINK YOU HEAR IT UNANIMOUSLY FROM THE PEOPLE, THE BOARD MEMBERS ON THE, UH, CALL AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE LISTENING, UH, AND HAVE CONVEYED THEIR KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM. SUPERB JOB. AND YOU MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY AND WE KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO SYNCHRONIZE ALL THESE MOVING PARTS, ALL THESE OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS THAT ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING INTO HOW YOU DO THINGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU. SO AGAIN, KUDOS EXTREMELY WELL DONE MA'AM, TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF. WE APPRECIATE IT. WE GOT A GREAT TEAM AND UH, WE HAVE TEAM CONSULTANTS, UH, THAT HELP US IN THIS EFFORT AS WELL, THAT, UM, KEEP US ON RIGHT ON THE RIGHT TRACK. OKAY, MOVING TO THE NEXT ITEM. ANYTHING. I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST ITEM. AND I DO HAVE A LIST OF, UH, FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS WHEN YOU'RE READY. READY MA'AM. ALRIGHT. UM, SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THE BO BOARD MONTHLY BUDGET REPORT AND THE TRANSPARENCY REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER WITH SOME HIGHLIGHTED AREAS. UM, WE WILL BRING FORWARD A PRELIMINARY BUDGET CALENDAR FOR YOU TO SEE FOR THE 26 27 BUDGET YEAR. SO YES, IT IS ALREADY, WE'RE ALREADY PLANNING. UM, WE HAVE SOME GREAT, UH, THINGS COMING ON THAT, AND I WILL SHARE THAT WITH YOU ON THAT NEXT MEETING. UH, WE HAVE FOUR ADMINISTRATIVE RULES UPDATES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING FORWARD. UM, E SIX OS SEVEN, OS 11, AND SS 42. SO, WE'LL, WE'VE BEEN BUSY TRYING TO WORK ON UPDATING THESE AREAS AND WHETHER, UM, AND THEY COME UP FOR VARIOUS REASONS. UM, NEW PA NEW THINGS FROM DIRECTIVES FROM THE STATE, OR, UM, PERHAPS WE JUST READ ONE AND THEY CONFLICTED WITH ANOTHER ONE. SO THAT, UH, THOSE DO NEED SOME UPDATING. UM, AND WE'LL GET THOSE READY FOR YOU FOR THE NEXT, UH, NOVEMBER MEETING. AND THAT'S IT. OKAY. UH, BOARD MEMBERS, ANY FUTURE TOPICS YOU'D LIKE TO OFFER? NONE FROM ME AT THIS TIME. I'M JUST IN DISBELIEF THAT WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT NOVEMBER. THE TIME IS FLYING BY , MS. GORDON, SHE'S SHAKING HER HEAD. IS IT A HIGH FIVE OR A CLAP THIS TIME? MS. GORDON . A CLAP. , UH, MS. FRAZIER? NOTHING FOR ME AT THE MOMENT, SIR. THANK YOU. COLONEL. GEIER? NOTHING FROM ME, SIR. THANK YOU. OUTSTANDING. MR. SMITH? UM, OH, MR. SMITH. MR. SMITH. I DON'T SHOW YOU HIS. OH, I HAVEN'T MOVED FAR ENOUGH. OKAY. YES, SIR. MR. SMITH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. CERY. UH, NOTHING FROM ME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE, MR. SMITH. ALRIGHT. UH, WITH THAT, IF THERE ARE NO OTHER ITEMS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, WE WILL, UH, ADJOURN THROUGH UNANIMOUS CONSENT. I DO WANT TO THANK YOU. WE ARE MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BE VERY ECONOMICAL WITH YOUR TIME, AGAIN, WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE GRANULARITY THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO USE IN PROVIDING OVERSIGHT. CAN YOU HEAR? GOOD? GOOD. OH. SO, UM, WITH THAT, THANK YOU ALL AND, UH, TIME. WELL SPENT MEETING. WELL DONE. HAVE A GREAT DAY, FOLKS. BE YOU. THANK YOU EVERYONE. . BYE-BYE. THANK YOU. THANK. * 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.