The Higley USD Governing Board approved a second revision Dec. 14 to its fiscal year 2022-23 budgets.
The revision puts the maintenance and operations budget, which pays for most salaries and the day-to-day operations of the district, at $119.87 million, up more than $766,000 or 0.6%.
However, the unrestricted capital budget, which pays for items like buildings, technology, curriculum and buses, is down more than $734,000, or 2.5%, from $28.98 million to $28.24 million.
The change in the maintenance and operations fund came mostly from underestimating the M&O budget balance carry forward from FY 2021-22 by $2.34 million, largely the result of unfilled positions, district Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore said.
However, that underestimation was partly offset by the district losing 128.2514 in average daily membership, a key figure in the state’s budget formula, Moore said. ADM is the total enrollment of fractional students and full-time students, minus withdrawals, of each school day through the first 100 days of the school year.
The capital budget revision came from overestimating that budget balance carry forward from FY 2022-23, Moore said, the result of last-minute capital item payments made in the last budget year.
The budget will be revised again in May by state law, but Moore said he does not expect a wide variance from this revision.
In a separate item, Moore also outlined the timeline for approval of the fiscal year 2023-24 budgets. The maintenance and operations budget will be reviewed at board meetings Jan. 18 and Feb. 22 with a third review and tentative approval scheduled for March 8.
The capital budget will be reviewed Feb. 8 and March 8 with tentative approval scheduled for April 5.
The final approval will come June 21 after public hearings June 7 and 21.
In other items
The board adopted a resolution approving the sale, execution and delivery of certificates of participation in a lease-purchase agreement on the district middle schools. The action, discussed at the previous board meeting Nov. 16, puts the district on course to refinance the current leases, which district officials have said are burdensome to the district.
The board unanimously approved course guides for the 2023-24 school year for the district’s high schools, middle schools, special education and Higley Virtual Academy. The guides also had previously been presented to the board Nov. 16.
The board unanimously approved the memorandum of understanding between the district and the Higley Education Association, which represents the district’s employees.
The board recognized outgoing its two outgoing members, President Amy Kaylor and Board Member Jill Wilson, both of whom declined to run for reelection. Kaylor, however, was out of the country for her final meeting.
Newly elected board members Amanda Wade and Anna Van Hoek will fill their seats when the board meets again in January.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
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.
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