Another item addressed during the Oct. 9 informal Hernando County school board meeting was placing actual cost information on the school district’s budget sheet. Specifically, Susan Duval raised the discussion of including the amount of money that was budgeted for an item in previous years and what the item actually cost. Duval said the information can currently be looked up, but is time-consuming. She also noted that for anyone tracking expenses, having the additional information available will make that job easier.
“Sometimes we budget $500,000 for something … maybe its (actual cost) is $350,000. I think it would help the board members put things in perspective.” Duval stressed that the request isn’t due to a problem, but to have information more readily available.
Mark Johnson said that adding information to the Executive Summary as to why a bid vendor was chosen would also add to the quality of information. Presently, this information may or may not be included in attachments. Beth Narverud added that also including reasons why a vendor was not chosen would be valuable as well.
The board discussed a using a bid document check off list, which will offer another facet of transparency for the school board budget.
