November 2, 2026 - Iredell-Statesville BOE Budget Work Session

The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education held a budget work session on November 2, 2026, to review the 2025–26 audit and begin discussing the 2027–28 budget. The external auditor, Anderson Smith and White, reported an unmodified opinion and one administrative finding involving just over $300,000 in summer health-insurance expense postings; the auditor said it caused no district cost and that additional controls had been put in place. The audit showed approximately $5.9 million in general-fund balance, with about $5.7 million unassigned, while the district’s CFO described enrollment declines, rising costs, and exceptional-children expenses as contributing to a projected current-year shortfall of roughly $2.5–$4 million. Discussion of possible savings included staffing and school consolidations, shared positions, work-calendar changes, and reviewing contracted services. These were brainstorming options, not approved actions; no contract awards or purchasing approvals were made.

Members also discussed procurement oversight under Board Policy 6420, which was described as requiring board approval for expenditures over $125,000. The superintendent said legal counsel had advised that the threshold applies to individual contracts, and outlined possible changes to spending limits and reporting, including a proposed $25,000 principal limit and reporting certain expenditures above $50,000; no formal policy change was adopted. Members raised bulk purchasing and review of service contracts as potential cost-saving measures. The board also received a preliminary update on mold and ventilation concerns at Coddle Creek Elementary: district staff described testing, cleaning work by contractors, and planned air-duct cleaning, with a fuller update expected at a later meeting. No procurement-related vote or contract approval was identified.