After accepting technical adjustments made to the superintendent’s proposed school district 2022-23 budget, the Board of Education unanimously approved the budget with no other changes at its February 1 meeting.

As presented by Rodrigue, the proposed total 2022-23 spending package was originally $83,161,076, which represented a 4.35% increase from 2021-22. With the technical adjustments, which reflect new costs and updates since the budget was first presented, the budget was approved by the board as $83,051,179, a 4.21% or $3,353,481 increase from the current budget.

The budget will now go to the Board of Finance and Legislative Council for respective reviews and approvals before it goes to voters for consideration April 26.

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue first presented her proposed 2022-23 budget at the Board of Education’s January 18 meeting. Since then, the school board has heard from representatives of the school system and district regarding their respective sections of the proposed spending package.

A public hearing on the budget was held on the evening of Thursday, January 27, and two members of the public spoke.

At Thursday’s public hearing, resident Jessica Velasco voiced her support for the district’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Director Wesley A. Johnson’s efforts.

“I would like to thank the board and administration for having had the foresight in foreseeing and creating his position,” Velasco said.

Velasco also asked the school board to consider adding administrative support for the director’s position, and the board and superintendent later clarified that a support position is already in place and in the budget.

Resident Laura Main spoke in support of the curriculum and instruction portion of the budget, which she pointed out includes an independent audit of the curriculum. Sharing her support for DEI initiatives, Main said an audit of the curriculum is important given recent parent concerns for outdated social studies text books.

At the February 1 meeting, school district Director of Business and Finance Tanja Vadas presented the technical adjustments to the budget before board members began deliberating the spending package.

Adjustments reflected reductions of $59,896 for nursing salaries, $30,000 for cafeteria operations, and $20,000 for plant operations.

School board members deliberated one reduction — to remove monitoring of students by school staff in the morning at NHS — and one increase — an addition of funding for the curriculum and staff development budget to further support a district curriculum audit — to the budget, but both motions failed.

With no further budget adjustments announced, the school board voted for the budget, including the technical adjustments, and approved the district’s business department to make any further technical adjustments as needed.

Education Reporter Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.