Work Session Date: April 8, 2025
Board Members Present: Guessford, Burkett, Murray, Evans, McCusker, Zentmeyer
Student Representative: Wong
Board Members Absent: Beachley
Agenda Item / FY2026 General Fund Budget
Presenter(s)
Dr. David T. Sovine, Superintendent of Schools; Jeffrey Proulx, Chief Operating Officer; Eric Sisler, Executive Director of Finance; and Kameron Shives, Budget and Financial Reporting Analyst
Summary
The Board of Education will review the draft budget with the feedback received during the work session on April 1, 2025. Staff will present multiple scenarios as potential options for the Board to consider to balance the budget. The Board will seek consensus to approve the General Fund budget during the business meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, before the Board of County Commissioners finalizes the county’s budget for public hearing. There was a slideshow presentation that you can find here. The video of the meeting can be found here.
Meeting Details:
Dr. Sovine reported that with the end of the session yesterday, an additional $5 million will be added to the budget in increased allocations from state and local sources as required by legislation. The newly revised new funding changes from $17,039.528 to $22,562.00 - representing nearly $12 million more from the state and a little over $10 million from Washington County.
Dr. Sovine then reviewed items that appeared to receive the Board's consensus at the April 1 Work Session and the additional options that were voiced but that did not receive apparent consensus at that meeting.
Mr. Proulx then explained 5 scenarios detailed in the slides provided for the meeting.
TIMELINE:
2/18: BOE adopted the Superintendent’s Recommended Budget as the BOE’s Draft
3/18: **Received a recommendation from the Budget Advocacy and Review Committee (BARC- read report here)
3/18: Conducted a public hearing to hear from members of the community
4/1: Conducted a work session to receive information from staff and to discuss ways to reach consensus
4/8: Conduct a work session to discuss scenarios to reach consensus
** The Budget Advocacy and Review Committee supported several tenets of the FY26 Draft Budget, including "applauding the district’s commitment to fostering a culture of safety, wellness, and student success by focusing the majority of new financial resources on these two areas of the strategic plan. Specifically, the committee supports the expansion of security employees to all secondary schools within the district."
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Evans: Wanted a breakdown of what a 1% increase would look like for teachers, ESP and A & S
Shives: A&S: $278,000, teachers: $1.43 million, ESP: $389,000
Murray: Asked about the buses at RAMPS and EASTERN. She noted that these two schools have been the last two schools to be picked up - over 1000 students. They have been asking for 14 years for a solution to this problem, and we should consider helping them out with new buses that will help them with this problem.
Zentmeyer: Informal conversation seems to lean toward Scenario 5 being the best one at this point. That scenario includes the additional buses and drivers to begin the phase in process to address the bussing situation at RAMPS and EASTERN that Ms. Murray referenced.
Proulx: Noted that the buses would not be given Tier 3 assignments so that they will be on time for Tier 4. This takes place over time but to kickoff the process they are looking for 5 drivers to start.
Burkett: When comparing Scenario 1 and Scenario 5, could you move the 5 drivers up to Scenario 1 and reduce the salary resource pool?
Proulx: Explains that the original 5 options were before the additional $5 million coming in, and that is shown in the Revised Revenue Scenario
Burkett: Believes the regular subs are underpaid, and feels that just "just because you receive a bunch of new money, doesn't mean you have to spend it all or work it into the budget". Asked about a rainy day fund.
Proulx: The boards "rainy day fund" is essentially its fund balance. You do though have to balance a budget that shows how you are going to allocate all your revenues to your expenses.
Evans: Recommends doing Scenario 5 and then splitting the $2.4 million with OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) and fund balance. For the other $5 1/2 million look at staff increases and see what is left over for other needs.
Proulx: We have to research to see if you can actually dedicate money to your fund balance in the general fund. The fund balance is the drop of whatever is remaining from your operations at the end of the year.
Evans: If we can't then all into OPEB
Evans: Leaning towards scenario 5 as written and take the additional $5 1/2 million and look at what we're doing there. Asked additional questions about the revenue slide options.
Burkett: Asked again about the new buses and how the replacement bus cycle works. Dr. Sovine explained that by moving the new buses for this year to the CIP budget, the county is offering to pay for the new buses from county funds so that the Board can increase the salary resource pool.
Murray: So in Scenario 5, there's no 1% across the board cut. What other schools have 11 month principals? The answer is no. Murray noted that if Cascade is the only school and it's only $24,000, why can't we do what's needed to make sure the school is ready to start in August.
Zentmeyer: If the Cascade principal has to work in July, they can be paid for the days per diem. Probably next year we won't have this option if Cascade becomes a community school- we must move to 12 month.
Sovine: I believe Cascade is a community school and has a 12 month community coordinator. That was part of the logic of having the principal there 12 months. After following up with the staff there, we could possibly work with the secretary there and just have the principal there 12 month.
McCusker: Would having summer school program there would that help?
Proulx: Not really, when summer school programs run, staff need to have a principal on site.
Zentmeyer: Asked for consensus to add back the 12 month contract, but she did not receive consensus. The secretary is a 10 month employee that wishes to remain as is, and the school might have summer school and is a community school, yet there was no consensus to have a principal there in July.
Guessford: With the additional funds we are receiving from the state, do you feel the county is still willing to give.... at one time we were thinking we weren't going to get this whole amount- maybe it was a goodwill gesture to try and help. Do you think they will continue giving that money?
Sovine: This remains required by the blueprint, The governor in his initial proposal reduced the foundation funds. Th general assembly essentially restored those dollars.
McCusker: Wanted to bring up summer school again- if we do the targeted, then we are saving $490,000 from number 5.
Proulx: Correct.
Guessford: Asked about dropping additional funds into the PPP fund….
Proulx: Public Private Partnership Fund is a sub category of the fund balance, we would need to research that.
Murray: For the Cascade principal to be 12 month since it's only the $12,000, couldn't we please reconsider?
Zentmeyer: I would also ask they we do that as well.
Burkett: What's the purpose for that, who is wanting that if it's been working this long?
Murray: If you have a summer school program you need someone in charge and they are going to have a new community school manager- there is a lot to do over the summer.
Sovine: The principal still goes to the school in July even though it is not in her contract and addresses any needs, enrollment needs, needs of parents/families. This will provide consistency and service. The principal desires to be at work through the month of July and available to support the needs of parents.
Zentmeyer: Cascade does not have an assistant principal.
Proulix: noted that the Cascade principal had been 12 months but had been reduced in 2021 or 2022 as a cost-savings measure when the administrative assistant was 12 month
Zentmeyer: We received an email from the principal requestion to go to 12 month.
Proulx: Noted that to add back the $11,000 would not be difficult.
Zentmeyer: Consensus for scenario 5, with the addition of a the 12 month principal with the additional revenue being split between OPEB and the salary resource pool.