Gilbert Public Schools approves final budget revision for FY 2024-25 

By Tom Blodgett
Mail |
X: @sp_blodgett

The Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board on Tuesday approved its third and final budget revision for the 2024-25 fiscal year, reflecting updated student counts and financial adjustments that impact the district’s budgets. 

The revised maintenance and operations budget now stands at approximately $282.58 million — a decrease of about $5 million from the original adopted budget.  

This shift was driven by multiple factors, including a $12.5 million transfer from M&O to capital, made possible in part by $1.5 million in one-time state funding tied to free and reduced-price lunch eligibility.  

“Those are additional dollars that we are only getting one time this year, and we made the decision to take all of that $1.5 million and move it to capital,” Budget Manager Lauren Torska said. 

In contrast, the unrestricted capital budget saw a substantial boost, increasing by $18.07 million to a revised total of $68.69 million. Much of this increase stems from the M&O-to-capital transfer and higher-than-expected carryforward funds bolstered by interest earnings.  

Finance Director Jackie Mattinen pointed out that the district’s capital allocation from the state is only $18.5 million but that the district has $36.93 million spent and encumbered in capital. 

“With the great needs of our facilities, it's really great that we have this budget balance carryforward in unrestricted capital so that we can meet our most urgent needs out in our facilities,” Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz said. 

District officials attributed the budget revisions primarily to changes in student enrollment and refined financial estimates. Notably, the weighted student count increased by 615 over earlier projections, which influenced funding calculations. 

The maintenance and operations budget funds the day-to-day operations of the district, including most salaries. The capital budget funds items like building improvements, security measures and curriculum materials.  

With this final revision, which the board unanimously approved, Gilbert Public Schools meets the state’s May 15 deadline for budget adjustments. 

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).