By George Zeliff
Mail

The Fountain Hills Unified School District Governing Board heard presentations on the Bond and Override Report FY2023 and the FY23 Annual Finance Report (AFR) at its Wednesday, Oct. 4, meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski also confirmed that the Arizona Auditor General received FHUSD’s corrective action plan, and representatives from the Auditor General will begin a review on internal controls beginning Monday, Oct. 16.

Arizona law requires the board to hear an annual update on bond and override expenditures and submit an approved AFR to the Auditor General and Arizona Department of Education. Approving the AFR does not necessarily mean that board members approve of every single spending item, and FHUSD would be out of compliance if the AFR was not approved. The board members approved the AFR unanimously.

Tyler Moore, a consultant with True Professionals, LLC, led the financial presentations. Moore has assisted the district for more than a year, and he showed how much money was spent, where it was spent, and what it could be spent on next.

The residents of Fountain Hills approved a 15% M&O override in 2021, which gave way to $1,295,186 additional dollars for FHUSD in 2023. The district used 40% of the Override to pay for teacher salary raises to stay competitive with surrounding districts, and 23% was used to fund all-day kindergarten.

The district fully exhausted the remaining $116,877.69 from the 2013 bond on consolidation related projects this year. More than 90% of the voter approved, $8 million bond was spent on safety and security, building renovations and site athletic improvements.

Moore briefly covered a spending plan for the $25 million bond proposal coming this November. If the board is given authorization to issue bonds, the proposed plan includes allocating $2.5 million for roof upgrades/repairs, $2.25 million for HVAC upgrades/repairs, $1.75 million for bathroom renovations, $750,000 for outdoor learning spaces and much more.

The board can modify the spending plan and move up to 10% of funds from one item to another. Visit fountainhillsschools.org, click on the “Bond Election Information” bubble, and scroll down to view the bond spending plan. The plan includes addressing outdated equipment and bringing in new things for students to enjoy.

“Your capital budget is really being strained by the age of your buildings and the quality of your buildings,” Moore said. “Some of these initiatives are not typical annual maintenance obligations that you would fund out of your capital budget. Some of these are extras, which [Dr. Jagodzinski] has talked about multiple times, are creating incentives for students to attend your school and keep students here.”

FHUSD spent 2.1% more on facility upkeep, 1.3% more on transportation and 1.7% more on administrative costs in 2023 than 2022, according to the AFR. Jagodzinski said it was important to maintain site leadership for students and staff during consolidation. For the first time since the COVID pandemic, FHUSD retained all their principals and assistant principals.

Jagodzinski did say he would like to see a decrease in administration and facility maintenance spending moving forward.

He added he wants to make the buildings more energy efficient with upgrades to avoid wasteful spending, and he said there would have to be conversations later this year about possible administrative moves.

The board members have more budget discussions planned and will talk about procurement procedures at an upcoming meeting. The next board meetings are at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, and Wednesday, Nov. 1. All meetings are held in the FHUSD Learning Center, are livestreamed and recorded on YouTube.