Sunnyside board approves final FY23‑24 expenditure revision, authorizes limited M&O subsection overspending

The Sunnyside Unified School District governing board on the evening of the meeting approved the district’s Fiscal Year 2023‑24 annual expenditure budget revision No. 2 and authorized district staff to exceed maintenance-and-operations (M&O) subsections if required before the encumbrance deadline.

At a public hearing, a district presenter (speaker 3) told the board the revision uses an enrollment base of 13,359 — a 2.6% decline from the prior year — and that the only programmatic changes recorded for this revision are in the M&O budget. He said a combination of shifts in enrollment and new allocations produced roughly $1.8 million in additional funds for the revision. “Group B, ADM increase in the area of special education…there’s an increase of 751,000,” the presenter said, linking the increase to roughly 41 additional special-education students. He also cited an ELL ADM rise tied to about 71 students and confirmed the state-approved Move On When Reading allocation of $678,000.

The presenter added that adopting the community eligibility provision increased the district’s free-and-reduced population by about 3,400 students and produced roughly $564,005.91 in additional state funding. Combined with the other adjustments, those line items accounted for the $1.8 million net increase shown in the revision.

During the formal motion, a board member (speaker 2) moved to approve the FY23‑24 expenditure budget revision No. 2 and to authorize exceeding subsections of the M&O expenditure budget as needed; another trustee seconded the motion. The clerk conducted roll call and the board recorded unanimous approval.

The motion authorizes staff to post expenditures through the encumbrance period and to adjust subsection spending while keeping the overall M&O budget intact. No further amendments or conditions were recorded on the motion. The board closed the public hearing before continuing with other agenda items.

What’s next: The approved revision will be filed with the Arizona Department of Education per the timeline described by staff, and the board authorized staff to manage subsection variances through the close of the fiscal encumbrance period.