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The Suffolk School Board saw the approval of the budget development calendar for the 2025-26 school year.

The calendar was approved by a 5 to 2 vote, with Board Members Dr. Dawn Marie Brittingham and Kimberly Slingluff voting in opposition during their Thursday, Aug. 15 board meeting held at Kings Fork Middle School. 

The calendar details that budget discussions with existing employee groups are set to occur from October to December, including a community input session during the Thursday, Dec. 12 board meeting at 7 p.m. The proposed budget will be presented during a special board meeting in February 2025, a public hearing at the March 13 board meeting, and another March board meeting for a vote. The goal is to send it to the city in April in time for a May public hearing on the city budget. 

Brittingham expressed her desire for the board to be more involved in budget discussions and to develop the board’s portion of the yearly budget. 

“It’s hard for us to understand how our portion of the budget works if we don’t have access to it and are able to give input on it,” Brittingham said. “I am seeking to have the whole board engaged in the budgeting process, much sooner than October and December. I know in October we give budgeting initiatives, but the board needs to consider being part of the initial budgeting process and discussion.”

Brittingham continued.

“…because if we as a school division are expected to be fiscally good stewards over the money that we have, I think it starts with the board,” she said. “I think it starts with board members understanding how our portion of the budget works, how much money is assigned to us as a board, and then giving input into where and how those monies are spent.”

Clarifying with Brittingham, Board Chair Karen Jenkins asked if her concern was what the board is doing with the expenses, asking if she wanted “names, places, amounts of what the board did.” Brittingham affirmed, saying that it “might be helpful for us to understand where money is being spent in the totality of the board,” noting they should see the overall budget the board has and subcategories where money is allotted.

“But inside of those categories, when and how is that money is being spent, I think we as a board are accountable to that. We need to be able to speak to those things that are being spent as board members because we’re elected officials,” Brittingham said. “We’re accountable for that amount of money in the budget and when constituents ask us about our portion of the budget, I think we should be able to honestly answer them that we do understand where and how this money is being spent.”

Jenkins followed by asking for an example.

“If somebody wants to call you and say, ‘How much money did you spend on a hotel?’ Are you talking about those? As deep as that?” Jenkins asked. 

Brittingham said she wants to be able to speak honestly and say she understands where and how the expenses are being spent. 

After Board Member Tyron Riddick asked to include board engagement as a budget item, Slingluff followed, emphasizing that as an example of why the board needs to “look at where our monies are going.”

“And this is why back last spring, before the budget was approved, I wanted to see an itemization of the monies that were spent so I can fully understand where our monies go.” Slingluff said.

Slingluff continued, also discussing the importance of the board being “good stewards” of money allotted to them and being able to determine what purchases are “fruitful” or “wasteful.”

“When there’s large supplies and materials and not given the answer that material and supplies for the School Board, which was, I believe $10,000, is to have pencils and paper and tablets for board meetings and water bottles, that doesn’t add up to me,” Slingluff said. “Especially when one of the years, the materials and supplies was exceeded by $5 to 7,000 above that $10,000. I would like to better understand that itemization to feel comfortable with the monies that we’re spending. Because again, this sets the example for the entire school system. I would hope that leadership within the school system looks at the monies that are spent and chooses what is good and profitable and necessary and not just what we spend because we have money there to spend it.”

Slingluff continued.

“I believe that community engagement would be a very good avenue to allocate some of our monies. I don’t know if there’s monies already in our budget where we wouldn’t have to just add more monies in to do that, because I can’t tell you what we’ve spent all of our monies on: it’s a general broad category. And as a board member, I would like to be able to see that,” she said. “So if it can’t be itemized out for us in a clear way where we can reconcile back to our own budget to fully understand the monies…I believe it’s important that the School Board should have that oversight, particularly since there are years and years that have gone in, to my colleagues point, of the way the monies have been spent…”