SJSD Finance Committee reviews budget practices, emphasizes transparency
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The St. Joseph School District’s Finance Committee met Tuesday to take a closer look at the financial report Executive Finance Director Linda Quinley shared with the full School Board on Nov. 24.
Quinley walked committee members through, not just the district’s financial documents, but also the budgeting process itself — how the district builds its budget, where funding comes from at the local, state and federal levels and what best practices they’re working to follow.
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, Robert Hedgecorth, said the meeting was really about transparency and making sure the community sees the work happening behind the scenes.
“Give our board an update of where we've been in the past, where we've come and where she (Quinley) sees projects in the future, not only for our finances, but also how we can best give the board the best information possible,” Hedgecorth added.
At the meeting, members weighed in on Quinley’s presentation — especially since most of them didn’t have the chance to ask or raise concerns during the Nov. 24 board meeting.
Committee members pointed out areas where the district could improve and talked about ways to boost public confidence in the district’s financial direction.
One of the biggest takeaways for Hedgecorth was Quinley’s emphasis on accuracy in budgeting.
“Any time we give a budget to the board, we want to try to be as accurate as possible...She explained to the board what she thought an accurate budget looked like and what those thresholds were,” Hedgecorth added.
As the district reaches its halfway point through the school year, Hedgecorth said they’re able to look more closely at financial projections, both for how this year may end and what next year’s budget could look like.
Those projections include factoring in the upcoming school consolidation plan and estimating expenses for each location.
“Looking at our school consolidation plan and seeing what our expenditures will be for those individual locations for next year and...already start the planning process for presenting our budget to the board for next year," Hedgecorth said.
According to Hedgecorth, families shouldn’t expect any personal financial impact from the district’s efforts to get fiscally healthier.
He added that the district knows community members want to see their tax dollars used responsibly.
“There weren't any type of changes in school fees that might be coming down the line or anything like that. That was not that's not how we're looking to get fiscally healthy,” Hedgecorth said.
Hedgecorth said it always helps to have more people in the room during financial meetings: board members, finance committee members, anyone involved — because the more voices they hear, the better the district can understand different perspectives.
