Peoria Standard

Illinois State Board of Education Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole met Feb. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Roll Call

Committee Chair Dr. Patricia Nugent brought the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. Roll call was taken, and a quorum was present with five members attending in person. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders also was in attendance.

Members Present

Committee Chair Dr. Patricia Nugent

Dr. Steven Isoye

Dr. Donna Leak

Dr. Sherly Chavarria

Laura Gonzalez

Members Absent

Dr. James Anderson

Roger Eddy

Dr. Anna Grassellino

Staff Present

Dr. Tony Sanders, State Superintendent

Jo Ireland, Board Services Coordinator

Kim Clarke, Executive Assistant to the State Superintendent

Isabel Schoeman, Special Assistant to the State Superintendent

Kristen Kennedy, Chief Legal Officer

Dr. Kimako Patterson, Chief of Staff

Dr. Matt Seaton, Chief Financial Officer

Dr. Jason Helfer, Chief Education Officer – Instruction

Jennifer Saba, Chief Education Officer – Operations

Tassi Maton, Chief Internal Audit Officer

Edobor Efam, Chief Information Officer

Irma Snopek, Chief Policy and Communications Officer

Miguel Calderon, Chief Operating Officer

Michael Gum, Director of School Business Services

Nick Heckel, Supervisor of School/District Improvement

Joyce Gronewold, Executive Director of Specialized Instruction

Angela Foxall, Director of Assessment

Rae Clementz, Executive Director of Data, Accountability and Assessment

Derreck Langwith, Director of ROE/ISC

Emily Fox, Director of Educator Effectiveness

Dr. Ronda Dawson, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning

Dr. Tiffany Burnett, Executive Director of Safe/Healthy Climate (virtual)

Dr. Erica Thieman, Director of CTE (virtual)

Dr. Nakia Douglas, Director of Special Education

Dr. Nikki Combs, Director of School/District Improvement

2. Public Participation

There was no public participation. Chair Patricia Nugent and Jo Ireland issued a reminder that any additional public comment can be sent to Ms. Ireland at bireland@isbe.net.

3. Approval of Minutes: Jan. 14, 2025

Dr. Sherly Chavarria moved that the Finance and Audit Committee of the Whole hereby approve the Jan. 14, 2025, meeting minutes. Dr. Steven Isoye seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote.

4. Discussion | Grant CCSD 110 Update

Director of School Business Services Michael Gum discussed an update on Grant CCSD 110.

Mr. Gum reminded the Board of its March 2024 designation of Grant CCSD 110 as being in financial difficulty, primarily due to the district’s failure to provide timely financial reporting to ISBE. He stated that the district has developed a financial plan, as required by the designation, and ISBE Regional Financial Consultant Mike Olson works directly with the district to monitor its progress and make improvements. He meets with the district monthly, and Mr. Gum visits the district quarterly. Mr. Gum then reviewed each major component of the district’s financial plan and its progress in each area to date.

Mr. Gum first discussed the section on working cash bonds. He detailed that the financial plan predicted issuing a new bond in fiscal year 2027, but based on its current budget, he believes the district will not need to issue bonds until FY 2028 or FY 2029. He added that a later date reflects better financial progress for the district.

Mr. Gum then shared that the district’s FY 2025 budget was submitted on time this year, and ISBE requested several edits from the superintendent in order to accept the budget form. The edits were primarily regarding minor concerns about certain values in the incorrect cells and some unrecorded upcoming transfers. The district complied, got the budget reapproved by its board in December 2024, and resubmitted it to ISBE. Mr. Gum noted that the district’s original financial plan predicts a budget deficit of around $800,000, which is much larger than the $100,000 that is shown in its FY 2025 budget.

Mr. Gum then discussed financial reporting. He reported that Grant CCSD 110 submitted its budget and Annual Statement of Affairs in a timely fashion this year. He said that it has not yet submitted its Annual Financial Report, but that is due to an issue reconciling bank accounts that ISBE is aware of; the issue has been addressed and the audit is now nearing completion.

Mr. Gum shared that in the next major area of the financial plan, internal controls, ISBE’s primary concern was with the district’s lack of quality accounting procedures. He stated that the district’s bank reconciliations are now up to date, and it is working to simplify its accounting software to something simpler and switching from multiple checking accounts to one account to address issues.

Mr. Gum said grants management was a large initial concern for the district, and up until recently several grant programs were in frozen status due to a lack of expenditure reports. He updated the Board that as of last week, the district resolved these issues and currently has no frozen grant funds. He added that there is still progress to be made, including through cross-training and refining the districts’ calendar system.

Mr. Gum concluded by saying the district still has financial concerns, but ISBE does not believe a Financial Oversight Panel is necessary going forward. Much of the district’s work going forward will pertain to making changes in its business office to prevent another decline into financial difficulty. He anticipates that the district will have a revised financial plan for the Board to review either in June or August of 2025. He said his team will consult on it.

Chair Nugent thanked Mr. Gum for the work he and his team did for Grant CCSD 110. Dr. Donna Leak said she’s glad to hear the district is making progress. Mr. Gum agreed that significant progress has been made.

5. Superintendent’s Consent Agenda and Action Items – February 20, 2025

Chair Nugent reminded the Board that these items were discussed last month, and she thanked staff for providing information requested by the Board. She then reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Dr. Leak expressed excitement that ISBE has received an audit report for the FY 2024 Financial Audit. Dr. Leak additionally asked for confirmation that the item Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of FY 2025 Continuation School Improvement Grants will appear as a separate action item from the Consent Agenda at the next day’s Board meeting. Ms. Ireland confirmed. Dr. Chavarria echoed appreciation for the information provided by ISBE staff.

6. Upcoming March Board Action Items

A. Contracts & Grants Over $1 Million – Approval of New Intergovernmental Agreement with University of Kansas Center for Research for the Dynamic Learning Maps – Alternate Assessment (DLM-AA)

Director of Assessment Angela Foxall discussed this item.

Dr. Leak said she’s appreciative that a price has been determined through the year 2035 and asked for more information on the $500,000 increase from FY 2026-27. Ms. Foxall said the change comes from an increase in the per-student price from $60 to $77 for each content area and a consortia fee for math, English language arts, and science annually that is increasing to $118,000 from $100,000. Dr. Leak asked if this can be attributed to the state’s shift to the ACT exam from the SAT exam. Ms. Foxall said that the addition of science for Grades 9 and 10 is because ISBE is now assessing for science at Grades 9 and 10 through the ACT, and the agency is required to provide an alternate assessment that matches each of the content assessments it requires. She shared that currently there are around 5,000 students eligible for science assessment and she anticipates that number will increase to around 8,000 with the addition of two grade levels.

Dr. Chavarria asked what role the Accountability Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) plays in this item. Ms. Foxall replied that the DLM-AA has its own TAC that advises on a consortia-wide basis and meets separately to discuss that assessment alone. Ms. Foxall added that if ISBE has additional questions and concerns, ISBE’s Accountability TAC can be consulted.

Dr. Leak commented that the Board is now seeing added costs of the switch from the SAT to the ACT as exemplified by this item and asked the Board to continue to be cognizant of additional costs that may come up. Chair Nugent emphasized the switch is from SAT to ACT, as Dr. Leak initially misspoke. State Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders appreciated the feedback and said that the determination of the lowest cost or bid is in the hands of the Procurement Office. He said he can give the Procurement Office that input but the Board lacks control over price. Dr. Leak acknowledged that as well.

7. Internal Audit Updates

Chief Internal Audit Officer Tassi Maton led this discussion. She shared that there is no news regarding the FY 2023 Statewide Single Audit and emphasized that external auditors are not waiting on anything from ISBE staff to complete the audit. She said that the FY 2024 Statewide Single Audit is progressing forward. Ms. Maton continued that the FY 2024 Financial Audit final report was released by the Office of the Auditor General on Feb. 4 with an unmodified opinion, and that report is on the Consent Agenda tomorrow for the Board’s acceptance. She said she is happy to discuss the two findings from the report with the Board but recommended doing so in closed session. She stated that she is hoping to hear an update on the FY 2023/24 Compliance Examination in the next few weeks.

Chair Nugent asked for confirmation that external auditors are not waiting on information from ISBE for the FY 2024 Statewide Single Audit, and Ms. Maton said the auditors are still working on one final testing step with ISBE.

8. Closed Session (as needed)

Closed session was not needed.

9. New Business: Items for the Next Agenda

Dr. Chavarria requested updates on federal funding restrictions and any grants made to ISBE that are being impacted. Dr. Sanders shared that federal funding for ISBE’s Clean School Bus Act have been opened and closed multiple times but currently are open. Chief of Staff Dr. Kimako Patterson shared that there also are two federal funding streams related to climate and wellness that are not frozen but have been limited to $1 because the grant began in FY 2023; ISBE has just been alerted to those dollars. She shared that ISBE staff are working to see how much they are able to spend, and the federal government will continue to limit the funding to $1 until ISBE submits the paperwork to identify how much money will be spent. Dr. Sanders said that ISBE continually monitors federal grants to make sure they’re flowing and informs the Governor’s Office when they are not. Staff will keep the Board informed going forward. Dr. Chavarria said that it will be important to understand the impact on the fields if funds do go away as it is important for storytelling of what those funds were meant to do for communities. Dr. Sanders expressed concern about threats to federal funds knowing that school districts on average rely on federal funding for about 10% of their dollars to execute their functions, and that funding comes via reimbursement. Chair Nugent asked if federal funding updates will be an item at the next Board meeting, and Dr. Sanders clarified that the ISBE team will provide the Board with updates as they come in via the Board Weekly Update. Board members expressed their appreciation for this, and Dr. Leak emphasized this is time sensitive. Chair Nugent asked if ISBE is working with individual districts as they are impacted. Dr. Sanders said ISBE contacted districts affected by the school bus funding to ensure they were aware. He said he is glad to see the funds are available again and hopes the program goes forward, but many are at unease.

10. Next Meeting: Mar. 11, 2025

Chair Nugent reminded the Board that the next meeting of this committee will take place in Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202.

11. Adjourn

Dr. Leak moved to adjourn. Dr. Isoye seconded the motion, and it passed by a unanimous roll call vote. Chair Nugent adjourned the committee at 2:32 p.m.

https://www.isbe.net/Documents_Board_Meetings/021925-FA-Minutes.pdf