[1. CONVENE] [00:00:05] >> GOOD EVENING. WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FERNDALE SCHOOL BOARD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WHETHER ONLINE OR IN PERSON. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS A PUBLIC HEARING TO HEAR COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED 2024- '25 FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET. WE WILL MOVE RIGHT INTO THINGS. [2. ADOPTION OF AGENDA] FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA OF THIS SPECIAL MEETING IS TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. >> I WOULD LIKE TO ASK TO PULL THE SUPERINTENDENT CONTRACT FROM THE THING FOR DISCUSSION. >> WE'RE ON THE SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA AT THIS TIME, NOT THE REGULAR MEETING. >> IT'S BEEN THAT DAY. >> NOT HEARING ANYTHING, I WILL GO AHEAD AND THROW OUT THE MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING, AYE. >> AYE. >> ALL OPPOSED. THE AGENDA HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND THE FIRST ITEM ON [3. PUBLIC COMMENT] THE AGENDA THEN IS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED 2024-2025 DISTRICT BUDGET. IF THERE'S ANYBODY THAT IS INTERESTED IN MAKING COMMENT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, OR IF YOU'VE SIGNED UP, KRIS WILL LET ME KNOW. SEEING THAT THERE ARE NO COMMENTS AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND TURN THINGS OVER TO MARK AND HOLLY TO MAKE A PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD ON THE BUDGET, AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KEVIN. SINCE WE MET JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND WENT THROUGH THINGS IN A LOT OF DETAIL, WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THINGS A LITTLE QUICKER. TONIGHT, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THE PRESENTATION THAT IS ATTACHED, ALL OF THE DOCUMENTS THAT WE REFERENCE ARE INCLUDED ON BOARD DOCS AND ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE. WE WILL HIGHLIGHT SOME CHANGES AND A COUPLE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AS WE ZIP THROUGH THE PROCESS. >> OUR TOPICS FOR TONIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO RECAP WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE OUR STUDY SESSION. WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE ALIGNMENT OF OUR BUDGET WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. WE'RE GOING TO RECAP THE BOARD INVOLVEMENT IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, AND WE'LL REVIEW A DRAFT OF THE BUDGET. WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO SINCE JUNE 11TH IS THIS BUDGET PROCESS OVERALL HAS BEEN INTENTIONALLY MORE COLLABORATIVE THAN I THINK WE HAVE IN RECENT HISTORY, HAD OUR BUDGET. WE'VE REALLY INVOLVED A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS AND A LOT OF FEEDBACK. IT'S JUST BEEN A VERY COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. SINCE THEN WE HAVE REVIEWED THEN FINE TUNED THE BUDGET. THE ESD REVIEWED OUR BUDGET, AND WE PREPARED THE OTHER REQUIRED BUDGET DOCUMENTS, THE MSOC DISCLOSURE AND THE F-195F, AS WELL AS F-195, AND WE MET OUR ADVERTISING REQUIREMENTS, AND THEN TONIGHT IS OUR BUDGET HEARING. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER NOW TO KRISTI FOR SOME REMARKS. >> I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE TEAM THAT'S BEEN CONSISTENTLY WEEKLY, HOURLY WORKING ON THE BUDGET. ONE THING THAT I'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED BY WAS THIS WAS A SHIFT IN HOW WE HAVE DONE BUDGET PROCESS BEFORE. IT WAS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. LITERALLY, I WOULD SAY HUNDREDS OF HOURS HAVE GONE INTO IT. DIFFERENT STAFF INPUT, THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THE FOCUS GROUPS FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WE TOOK SERIOUSLY WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAD TO SAY ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND WE BEGAN TO REIMAGINE WHAT A BUDGET COULD LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING THE VALUES AND THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. I DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW COMPLEX A SCHOOL BUDGET IS. YOU'RE DEALING WITH GRANTS, STATE DOLLARS, FEDERAL DOLLARS. THE MAJORITY OF A BUDGET GOES TO STAFFING AND SO MAKING SURE YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT YOUR HIRING PRACTICES AND HOW YOU'RE SUPPORTING THAT PROCESS. IT'S JUST ON AND ON. JUST THE NUMBER OF HOURS. I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK MY TEAM FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND TIME AND ENERGY. [00:05:07] THERE WERE MANY NIGHTS I WOULD LEAVE THE OFFICE AT 6:00 AND THE TEAM WAS STILL THERE WORKING LATE. HATS OFF TO THEM, AND I HAVE APPRECIATED THE BOARD'S COMMENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. I REMEMBER THE LAST MEETING, THE BOARD SHARED THAT THIS WAS THE MOST THEY HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN THE BUDGET PROCESS, AND SO I WANT TO REALLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND INPUT AND THE HOURS THAT YOU SPENT COMING IN AND MEETING WITH HOLLY, AND MARK. >> ON THAT NOTE, WE HAVE A SLIDE HERE THAT SHOWS ALL THE TIMES THAT WE DISCUSS THE BUDGET WITH THE BOARD OR OUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. THERE ARE 16 ITEMS ON THERE INCLUDING TONIGHT. TO GET TO THE BUDGET. THE OFFICIAL STATE DOCUMENT IS THE F-195. IT'S IN A STATE FORMAT, AND THEN THE OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS ARE THE SOC DISCLOSURE AND THE F-195F, WHICH IS A FOUR YEAR PROJECTION. WE ALSO PRESENT A CITIZENS BUDGET. IT'S NOT REQUIRED, BUT IT IS A LITTLE EASIER TO USE FORMAT. THE FIRST FUND WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND. OUR BEGINNING FUND BALANCE ON THIS ONE WAS 7.1 MILLION. WE ARE PROJECTING REVENUES OF 5.4 MILLION EXPENDITURES OF 11 MILLION FOR AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 1.5 MILLION. I'M GOING TO GO FASTER WE REVIEWED THESE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. THERE WAS ONE SLIGHT CHANGE TO THIS. ORIGINALLY IN MAY WHEN WE PROJECTED OUR FUND BALANCE, BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WAS SLIGHTLY LOW, SO WE ADJUSTED THAT AND WE ALSO ARE EXPECTING TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WHAT WE HAVE THIS FISCAL YEAR. IT'S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE TO PREDICT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. THERE WAS A SLIGHT CHANGE TO THIS ONE IN EXPENDITURES, WE LOWERED THEM BY TWO MILLION BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO SPEND THAT THIS YEAR. THAT'S THE ONLY CHANGE FOR THIS ONE. THE DEBT SERVICE FUND. AGAIN, IT'S A FOUR MILLION DOLLAR BEGINNING BALANCE, REVENUES OF 7.8 MILLION, EXPENDITURES OF 7.4 MILLION FOR AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 4.3 MILLION. THERE WAS A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THIS ONE, ALSO. WHEN WE ORIGINALLY PREPARED IT, WE HAD AN OLD DEBT SERVICE SCHEDULE AND ONE OF THE BONDS WASN'T INCLUDED IN THAT, SO WE MADE AN ADJUSTMENT TO THAT. THE ASB FUND. THERE WERE NO CHANGES TO THIS ONE FROM WHEN WE WERE HERE LAST TIME AND PRESENTED THIS. BEGINNING FUND BALANCE IS 510,000, REVENUES OF 924,000 EXPENDITURES OF 870,000 FOR AN ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 563,000. THE TVF, THE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE FUND. THERE WAS A SLIGHT CHANGE TO THIS ONE. AGAIN, OUR BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WHEN WE PROJECTED IT IN LATE APRIL OR MAY WAS MAYBE A LITTLE BIT ON THE HIGH SIDE, SO WE ADJUSTED THAT DOWN TO 2.2 MILLION. OUR REVENUES, WE HAD ESTIMATED A MILLION DOLLARS BUT WE GOT OUR ACTUAL DEPRECIATION, WHICH WILL BE 917,000. OUR EXPENDITURES ARE 2.4 MILLION, SO ENDING FUND BALANCE OF 767,000. ONTO THE GENERAL FUND. WE'RE PRESENTED THIS, IS THE CITIZENS BUDGET THAT WE AGAIN, THE EASIER TO VIEW FORMAT. I'M GOING TO SKIP THROUGH THE FIRST COUPLE OF PAGES BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE TABLE OF CONTENTS, AND ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AND ON OUR WEBSITE AND ON BOARD DOCS. THIS IS THE APPROPRIATION PAGE WHICH SHOWS OUR APPROPRIATIONS FOR ALL OF THE FUNDS AND THIS IS IN THE CITIZENS BUDGET, AND THIS NEXT PAGE SHOWS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN THE F-195. IT'S THE SAME INFORMATION JUST PRESENTED IN A DIFFERENT WAY. THIS SHOWS OUR BEGINNING FUND BALANCE, WHAT WE'RE ESTIMATING FOR THE END OF THE YEAR. IT ALSO SHOWS IN THE MIDDLE OF PAGE. IT'S REALLY HARD TO READ BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S SMALL WRITING. OUR PROJECTED REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, AND THEN IT ENDS WITH THE ENDING FUND BALANCE. THIS IS ENROLLMENT. NO CHANGES SINCE THE LAST TIME WE PRESENTED THIS. THESE ARE PROJECTED REVENUES. SLIGHT CHANGES TO THIS ONE. [00:10:05] THERE WERE SOME ESTIMATED REVENUES CAME IN A LITTLE HIGHER THAN WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT. THERE WAS $800,000 MORE IN REVENUE THAN WHAT WE HAD PRESENTED TWO WEEKS AGO. THIS IS REVENUES DEFINED BY THE STATE CODES. THIS IS PAGE 1, PAGE 2. HOW IS OUR MONEY SPENT? THE STATE CODES, THERE'S PROGRAM ACTIVITY, AND OBJECT CODES. THIS FIRST SLIDE PRESENTS IT BY PROGRAM. THERE'S A SLIDE WHEN WE DISCOVERED THAT EXTRA REVENUE, WE DID PROJECT WE HAD OFFSETTING EXPENDITURES FOR THAT REVENUE. THE EXPENDITURES DID GO UP BY $800,000 FROM THE LAST TIME WE PRESENTED. THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS ALL THE PROGRAMS BROKEN DOWN BY STATE CODE. IT'S THE SAME INFORMATION THAT WAS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE JUST BROKEN DOWN A LITTLE FURTHER IN MORE DETAIL. THIS IS HOW WE SPENT. THIS IS THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, THE BOTTOM LINE, BUT THIS SHOWS BY ACTIVITY CODE. AGAIN, JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT IT. THIS IS BY MAJOR OBJECT, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY THE STATE CATEGORIZES THING. AGAIN SAME BOTTOM LINE. THIS IS OUR MSOC DISCLOSURE. >> ONE OF THE FAIRLY NEW LAST SIX, EIGHT YEARS. THE STATE IS REQUIRED DISTRICTS TO PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF THE MSOC, THE MATERIAL SUPPLIES, AND OPERATING COST MONEY THAT IS PROVIDED THROUGH THE ALLOCATION, WHICH IS AT THE TOP, THE STATE PROVIDES US 6.5 MILLION DOLLAR TO PAY FOR OUR MSOCS, DOWN BELOW IS WHAT THE DISTRICT ACTUALLY IS PROJECTED TO SPEND ON THOSE SAME CATEGORIES OF EXPENDITURE. YOU CAN SEE IT'S ALMOST SIX MILLION DOLLARS LARGER, AND THAT INCLUDES THE ADDITIONAL BUMP THAT WE GOT THIS YEAR BECAUSE THEY WERE SO FAR BEHIND IN ALLOCATING WHAT THE ACTUAL COSTS WERE. IF YOU REMEMBER LEGISLATOR CAME OUT AND GAVE US ADDITIONAL MONEY TO PAY FOR MSOCS, AND WE'RE STILL SIX MILLION DOLLARS BEHIND. THE POINT OF THIS, THE REASON THAT THE STATE ASKED FOR THIS TO BE DEMONSTRATED. IF FOR INSTANCE, THERE WERE A CASE WHERE WE WERE SPENDING LESS MONEY THAN THEY WERE ALLOCATING, WE HAVE TO THEN EXPLAIN TO THEM WHY AND WHAT WE'RE SPENDING THOSE FUNDS ON. THIS IS A FAIRLY NEWISH REQUIREMENT FOR BUDGET REPORTING. ALL DISTRICTS WILL HAVE THE SAME FORMAT. >> THIS NEXT SLIDE IS JUST A SNIPPET OF WHAT THE F-195F LOOKS LIKE. THIS SHOWS THE CURRENT AND THEN THE FORECAST FOR FOUR YEARS. WE CHOSE THIS SLIDE BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THE FUND BALANCE AND WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING IT TO BE OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. THIS REPORT IS SEVERAL PAGES LONG. IT'S ALSO INCLUDED AT THE END OF THE 239 PAGE F-195. IT'S AVAILABLE TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. THAT IS THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION. >> THANK YOU, HOLLY AND MARK. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THEM? I DO WANT TO ECHO KRISTI'S THANKS TO THE WHOLE TEAM. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK DONE ON THE BUDGET, AND AS SHE MENTIONED, AND I CAN ATTEST TO FROM EXPERIENCE, WE'VE HAD MORE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET THIS YEAR THAN POSSIBLY EVEN ALL MY PREVIOUS YEARS COMBINED. IT'S BEEN GOOD. I THINK WE'VE WENT THROUGH IT QUITE WELL AND GOOD TO SEE THAT. AT THIS POINT, DUE TO A TECHNICAL GLITCH IN BOARD DOCS, WE WILL BE CONTINUING THE PUBLIC HEARING TOMORROW NIGHT AT 5:45 FOR THE BOARD TO HEAR ANY FURTHER COMMENT ABOUT THE BUDGET. IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT AND DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TONIGHT OR WANTED TO LOOK AT THIS, ALL THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON BOARD DOCS AND IF YOU'RE NOT SURE HOW TO GET THERE, ASK ONE OF US WE CAN HELP YOU. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE HEARING TOMORROW NIGHT, THE BOARD WILL HOLD A SPECIAL MEETING TO ADOPT THE '24- '25 BUDGET. [00:15:02] BOTH THE HEARING AND THE SPECIAL MEETING WILL BE HERE AT MOUNTAIN VIEW, AND AVAILABLE FOR ONLINE VIEWING VIA THE DISTRICT WEBSITE AS WELL. AT THIS POINT, I'M GOING TO RECESS THIS HEARING TO BE RECONVENE TOMORROW EVENING. WITH THAT, WE'LL TAKE JUST A SHORT MOMENT AND THEN WE'LL START OUR REGULAR MEETING. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.