Committee debates using city actuary as district counts showed $3M+ non net school spending shortfall

District staff told the committee they issued an RFQ for actuarial services, conducted targeted outreach to 18 firms and received one response. DESE representatives who met with city officials suggested the city's existing actuary (KSM) could validate numbers to avoid duplication, but several committee members urged the district to secure its own actuary to provide independent verification.

One member asked why the city's actuary had not been used earlier and whether the city finance office had produced numbers without that validation. A district official responded that actuaries "are just there to kinda check the on the work that actually gets done," and that the RFQ response will be reviewed by the committee.

On non net school spending, finance staff (Kim Tsai) explained the negative balance for FY26 is primarily the result of salary accounting and remains "over 3,000,000." Staff said reconciliation will be pursued at an accounts meeting Sept. 10 and emphasized that non net school spending is typically the city's responsibility to fund; the district will report back after the accounts meeting.