Ryan Hines, the district’s chief financial officer, gave a finance update at the October 2025 meeting outlining the September financial dashboard, fund- versus cash-balance differences, audit status and near-term reporting deadlines.

Hines told the board the district’s FY26 budget (as presented in the treasurer’s notes) lists revenue of about $33 million and expenditures of about $36 million. He emphasized the district’s practice of underspending the expense budget so carryover funds are available for the next fiscal year and drew attention to large monthly claims that affected September totals (Pinnacle Bank biannual payment; a $193,000 continuation payment to Mammoth; supply purchases including roughly $35,510 for paper; and the city-of-Crete utilities payment of about $45,000).

Hines explained a technical but important point: many accounting reports include a county treasurer’s balance — an estimated tax collection amount being held and processed by the county — which inflates fund-balance figures relative to the district’s cash on hand. He said taxing funds (general, bond, and building funds) include county treasurer balances, while other funds (depreciation, employee benefits, lunch) more closely match cash balance.

On revenue timing, Hines explained how property-tax credits and the tax-levy cycle create a cash-flow mismatch: revenues tied to the new levy and tax-credit payments are received in February and May, so expenditures booked beginning Sept. 1 may be funded weeks to months later. He said the district has estimated tax receipts at about 75% of last year’s total for planning because some tax-credit payments were already distributed in the prior fiscal year.

Hines reported that the district’s audit firm KSO will no longer service school districts, requiring the district to issue an RFP to secure a new auditor. He described this as a statewide challenge — fewer firms are handling school audits — and said the district will need to secure a replacement in advance of the November state reporting deadlines.

Hines noted upcoming deadlines and items: TOSA funding data collection, final special-education financial reports, state-aid recalculation processes, Blue Cross Blue Shield and retirement-rate notifications, and teacher collective-bargaining negotiations. He said the district completed the 2024–25 audit fieldwork and had no immediate concerns, but is awaiting the final audit report.

Ending: Hines invited questions and offered to present cash-basis balances instead of accounting fund balances if the board preferred that view for internal monitoring.