Chandler Unified’s school board held a separate vote to approval a revision of a single form.
The CUSD Governing Board voted unanimously, at its June 25 meeting, to approve a revised 2023-24 food service annual financial report.
That report needed very minor revisions.
CUSD’s chief financial officer, Lana Berry, said the report only needed to be revised to reflect total meals served to students in all of the 365 days in the 2023-24 school year, rather than only during the 180 days of the regular school year.
“When we got the state Auditor General’s report, we realized that our meal price looked different from other districts, and we had to determine why,” Berry said. “We found we hadn’t reported the meal total correctly.”
She said the change in reporting does not cause a change to any district balance or fund. It simply gives state officials more accurate data about food service in Chandler schools for that year.
Berry said it’s reports such as that one that often reveal buried math errors or items that are simply coded or calculated incorrectly.
“I like audits and financial reports,” Berry said. “That’s how things like this are caught.”
In accordance with state law, school districts are required to submit an annual financial report to the Arizona Department of Education by Oct. 15 of each year. The AFR summarizes all financial activity for the district during the fiscal year, including expenditures, revenues, and fund balances, and it includes a food service annual financial report form.
The CUSD board approved the 2023-24 district annual report at its Oct. 9, 2024 meeting.
“Revisions to the Food Service AFR were necessary due to adjustments made to reimbursable meals claimed,” a staff report states. “The original meal counts were provided based on the school year dates rather than the fiscal year dates.”
The mention of food service and meals served by a school district happened just before the sweeping tax and spending package signed by President Trump — formally titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — made law major changes to federal nutrition assistance, particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Experts warn the law will significantly disrupt food access for tens of thousands of Arizona families, with ripple effects most sharply felt in the state’s public schools
Independent Newsmedia’s Stacy Mantle contributed to this story.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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