Pam Kelly, Derby Public Schools director of finance, presented a final summary of the district’s ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) spending and described near-term finance priorities.

Kelly told the board the district received three tranches of federal relief: $764,298 from ESSER I, $2,957,504 from ESSER II and $5,939,577 from ESSER III; final spending deadlines were Sept. 30, 2022 for ESSER I, Sept. 30, 2023 for ESSER II and Sept. 30, 2024 for ESSER III. She said more than 75% of ESSER funds were used to address learning loss and to sustain operations and staffing.

The district also announced it received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for fiscal year 2022–23; the presentation noted that was the district’s 40th consecutive year receiving the award. Kelly said the district’s 2023–24 audit was completed with no findings.

Kelly described other priorities for the finance office: the implementation of new financial and student software (Skyward cumulative), continued legislative monitoring for the 2025 Kansas legislative session, and a benefits renewal that produced new health-plan options for employees for 2025, with a reported increase in employer-provided health benefit dollars.

Board members asked for a short after-action assessment of ESSER spending and lessons learned. One board member praised the district’s transparency and the summary’s inclusion on the public record.

The board did not take action on ESSER spending at the meeting; the presentation was informational.