CFSD governing board approves FY25 budget revision; board discusses tight M&O straw budget for 2026
May 14, 2025 | Catalina Foothills Unified School District, School Districts, Arizona
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The Catalina Foothills Unified School District governing board held a public hearing and approved the final fiscal year 2025 budget revision (Revision No. 3) at its May 13 meeting, and later reviewed a draft maintenance and operations (M&O) straw budget for fiscal year 2026.
Lisa Tadel, a district staff member who presented the budget revision, said the revision reflects updated enrollment figures and actual expenditures and reduces the district’s revenue control limit by $2,665 because of a minor decrease in average daily membership. She described a roughly $617,000 decrease in the M&O fund resulting primarily from a $624,000 transfer from District Additional Assistance (DAA), reducing the DAA fund from about $10.41 million to $9.79 million.
Tadel told the board that federal projects funding increased by about $128,000 and that expenditure lines were recoded after updated state guidance redefined capital asset classification (moving some items from capital to supplies). She said the district brought psychologists in-house, reducing contracted psychologist costs by $60,000 and increasing payroll and benefits accordingly, which staff expect will save costs over time while improving service consistency.
Board members asked clarifying questions about the capital reclassification and its longer-term impact. Tadel said the change lowers capitalized assets and therefore reduces depreciation expense but that school districts are not focused on depreciation the way corporate entities are. She described capital adjustments and software costs for the district-wide Syntegix security platform and noted that bond sale proceeds from April 2025 added about $12.94 million to the bond building budget for future spending.
On the M&O straw budget for 2026, Superintendent Denise Bartlett and staff explained edits including reductions in substitute costs, transfers of some instructional positions to Title I funding (reducing instructional improvement fund expenses), an increase to district insurance and deductible estimates, and modest increases to coaching and stipend lines tied to step increases on the pay schedule. Bartlett characterized the overall picture as “tight” but balanced and said the district expects to adopt a preliminary budget later this spring; staff noted state-level uncertainty may require a preliminary adoption before a final budget.
The board voted 5-0 to approve the FY25 budget revision. No vote occurred on the M&O straw budget itself; staff said the straw would be revised and returned for later adoption steps.
Lisa Tadel, a district staff member who presented the budget revision, said the revision reflects updated enrollment figures and actual expenditures and reduces the district’s revenue control limit by $2,665 because of a minor decrease in average daily membership. She described a roughly $617,000 decrease in the M&O fund resulting primarily from a $624,000 transfer from District Additional Assistance (DAA), reducing the DAA fund from about $10.41 million to $9.79 million.
Tadel told the board that federal projects funding increased by about $128,000 and that expenditure lines were recoded after updated state guidance redefined capital asset classification (moving some items from capital to supplies). She said the district brought psychologists in-house, reducing contracted psychologist costs by $60,000 and increasing payroll and benefits accordingly, which staff expect will save costs over time while improving service consistency.
Board members asked clarifying questions about the capital reclassification and its longer-term impact. Tadel said the change lowers capitalized assets and therefore reduces depreciation expense but that school districts are not focused on depreciation the way corporate entities are. She described capital adjustments and software costs for the district-wide Syntegix security platform and noted that bond sale proceeds from April 2025 added about $12.94 million to the bond building budget for future spending.
On the M&O straw budget for 2026, Superintendent Denise Bartlett and staff explained edits including reductions in substitute costs, transfers of some instructional positions to Title I funding (reducing instructional improvement fund expenses), an increase to district insurance and deductible estimates, and modest increases to coaching and stipend lines tied to step increases on the pay schedule. Bartlett characterized the overall picture as “tight” but balanced and said the district expects to adopt a preliminary budget later this spring; staff noted state-level uncertainty may require a preliminary adoption before a final budget.
The board voted 5-0 to approve the FY25 budget revision. No vote occurred on the M&O straw budget itself; staff said the straw would be revised and returned for later adoption steps.
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