School board considers holding public work session to discuss budget

As talks about planning for next school year’s budget begin, the Blaine school board has yet to decide whether it will hold a work session this summer for the board and public to see how district financing decisions are made.

In the school board’s regular meeting March 28, board member Erika Creydt proposed that the board hold a public work session with finance director Amber Porter to get a better understanding on the district’s budgeting. While newly-appointed board member Don Leu seemed in support of a work session, board members Dougal Thomas, Charles Gibson and Todd Nunamaker said they would prefer it to be optional and not a public meeting.

Creydt, who has asked Porter about the budget repeatedly since joining the board in December 2021, said a June work session would be helpful for the board and public.

“What do you think we’re going to get out of that?” board president Thomas asked. He asked Creydt why she continued to ask about the district’s federal stimulus money, which Porter said was almost $6 million and had not yet been collected.

“I just think as board members we have an ethical as well as legal responsibility to understand it and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Creydt said.

Leu said he would also be interested in learning more about what goes into devising a budget and monitoring how enrollment will affect it. “That may be me being new and just needing education,” he said. “If people are willing to take the time, I’d be very interested in doing it.”

Gibson, who has been on the board since 2006, asked if the whole board had to be involved. Superintendent Christopher Granger said the meetings could be held in small groups with one board member at a time. These would then be informal, private meetings.

Gibson said he would prefer a small group as he has seen informal meetings be more productive in the past.

“Five is a pretty small meeting,” Creydt said, referring to the board. “We’re not that many.”

Gibson proposed having a small group meeting because it would not be a public meeting. Creydt said she thought members of the public would be interested in knowing more about how the budget planning works and would possibly have questions. She also said she believed it was important for the board to be transparent.

“I think we can address [the questions] without having a public meeting, but that’s just my opinion,” Gibson said. “It’s not that I’m trying to hide anything. Fifteen years on the board and we’ve gone through so many budget things. I admit we need to learn, but I like a more informal setting.”

Thomas said he would like more time to think about it. He also said he thinks it would be helpful if the board identifies what in the budget process it would like to learn more about.

When it comes to monitoring enrollment, Leu said he would like Porter to pick out a couple of numbers that would give a good representation of the district’s progress each month and how those changes in enrollment would affect the budget.

The board has until August 31 to adopt a budget and did not take action on the proposed summer work session.