Board reviews $35.5M proposal; trustees spar over cyber charter costs and a no‑tax‑increase directive

Pam, the district business manager, presented the finance committee’s draft budget for 2024–25 at the Feb. 20 meeting, reporting an updated fund balance near $4,547,316 and a proposed general fund totaling roughly $35.5 million. She detailed assumptions driving the draft: a projected overall salary increase of $379,571, a healthcare cost estimate increased from 8% to 15% (adding approximately $215,670), the winding down of ESSER funds that had supported staff, and a $200,000 line for curriculum adoption.

Trustees probed the district’s cyber‑charter payments and the potential fiscal impact of a state proposal to cap payments at $8,000 per regular education cyber student. Trustees and the business manager discussed the district’s current average billing — about $11,000 per regular ed student and roughly $21,000 for special‑needs placements — and modeled savings if a cap were enacted, with one trustee estimating potential savings on the order of $500,000–$575,000 depending on local figures.

Amid that budget discussion, a group of trustees moved to direct the business manager to prepare a no‑tax‑increase balanced budget that would use no fund balance and to present it at the March meeting. The motion prompted practical questions from the business manager about unknowns (state funding proposals, final contract settlements, and ESSER expiration) and from trustees about where cuts would fall. The board recorded mixed votes on the directive and requested follow‑up analysis from administration.

The budget presentation and debate signaled the board’s priorities (personnel costs, benefits, cyber‑charter exposure) and set the stage for March budget work sessions where trustees asked the administration to provide more detail on revenue scenarios, potential reductions and the effect of any state‑level charter payment changes.