Members of the public may address the Board during the period set aside by the Board without submitting an item for the agenda. No action shall be taken during this portion of the meeting on issues raised by employees or the public unless deemed an emergency by the Board. Please note: Comments are asked to refrain from personal remarks in which an individual is named. Comments are limited to two minutes unless extended by the board chair. Critical comments or complaints are processed through the District’s complaint procedures. Questions and concerns will be addressed by the Board through various venues, including, but not limited to, the district website and e-mail.

REDBOOK BUDGETS FOR HHS

Budget development for the school activity accounts is similar to the budget cycle for the school district. Information provided in the budget shall include estimated beginning balance; anticipated receipts from all sources, including fundraising; anticipated expenditures by category; and estimated ending balance.

1) Each club, organization and activity account shall prepare a tentative budget for the next    school year on the Individual Activity Account Budget Worksheet (Form F-SA-4A).           

a) The Individual Activity Account Budget Worksheets are due to the principal by April 15.

b) The sponsor shall work with the officers of the club in this process to assure continuity of programs.

c) The principal or designee shall prepare budgets for activity accounts without sponsors for SBDM approval.

2) The principal shall prepare the Principal’s Combining Budget (Form F-SA-3).

a) The Principal’s Combining Budget will list the summary budget information for each activity account in the school activity fund.

b) The Principal’s Combining Budget is due to the district finance officer by May 1.

c) The district finance officer will work with the superintendent to submit all school budgets to the local board for approval by the end of May.

d) Within 30 days of the beginning of the school year, the principal shall adopt the board approved tentative activity fund budget for the current year.

REDBOOK SCHOOL BUDGETS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS & HMS

REDBOOK WAS BROUGHT IN HOUSE STARTING IN FY23 TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT MEANING ALL REVENUE, PO’S, INVOICES ARE GENERATED THROUGH THE MUNIS SYSTEM

YTD MUNIS BUDGETS ARE BEING USED FOR THESE SCHOOLS FOR FY27

• FY22 was the last year the REDBOOK funds were out at the schools and in the EPES accounting software.
• The Finance Director took those FY22 ending balances and entered all revenue into MUNIS which becomes the school’s beginning balance for FY23.
• During FY24-FY26 school year, every time a school does a deposit into one of their REDBOOK accounts, the revenue is added to MUNIS. This allows the school to be able to spend the money in the appropriate budget. Each REDBOOK account has its own separate project in MUNIS so not to co-mingle funds.
• Please see attached reports ran for each school as April 2026.This is the most accurate up-to-date budget that the school can use to spend money in their REDBOOK funds.
• Once FY26 is over those ending balances will be rolled over to FY27 as the starting budget for FY27.

• school activity budgets FY27 for board

Budget Narrative for April FY2026 monthly financial statement:

1. General fund (fund 1) – as of 4/30/26, revenue received of 46.5 million with expenses of 31.9 million.
2. Special revenue (fund 2) – as of 4/30/26, revenue received of 8.4 million with expenses of 8.4 million. Many grants in fund 2 are on a reimbursement basis. Money is requested after the expenses have occurred. There is a delay on receiving fund 2 revenue.
3. School Activity Fund (fund 25) – as of 4/30/26 revenue received of $281,000 with expenses of $28,000.This fund was set up end of FY20 due to a new GASB standard that went into effect.
4. Capital outlay (fund 310) - as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $147,500 with expenses of $0. The state does not provide all the capital outlay funding until the end of the fiscal year. This fund is used to pay the district’s bond payments. Bond payments occur throughout the whole fiscal year under fund 400 (new for FY’13 per KDE). Money will be transferred out of capital outlay into the debt service fund throughout the fiscal year.
5. Building fund (fund 320) - as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $2,841,000 with expenses of $770,000. This fund is used to pay the district’s bond payments. Bond payments occur throughout the whole fiscal year under fund 400 (new for FY’13 per KDE). Money will be transferred out of building fund into the debt service fund throughout the fiscal year.
6. Construction fund (fund 360) - as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $440,000 with expenses of 6.1 million. This fund is used to pay for the district’s construction projects.
7. Debt Service fund (fund 400) – as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $175,000 with expenses of 2.1 million. See detailed explanation under capital outlay and building fund.
8. Food service fund (fund 51) – as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $2,678,000 with expenses of $2,984,000.
9. Daycare fund (originally fund 50 – switched to fund 52 per KDE) – as of 4/30/26, revenue received of $389,000 with expenses of $288,000. Revenue comes in throughout the fiscal year.

April budget changes for fund 1:

4/26 Superintendent’s emergency/timing budget – in budget at 500K – this is used throughout the school year.

Completed 5/1/26 by Annette Burtschy

• April 2026 bank account update for board portal 5-1-26
• April 2026 investments update for board portal 5-18-26
• balance sheet April 2026
• financial report April 2026
• Info on funds to help with monthly MUNIS report for board 3-12-21
• YTD general fund only April 2026

Monthly warrants.

• 5-3 packet for May 2026 board meeting
• Warrants for May 2026 board meeting for board portal 5-20-26

This Tentative Budget Cycle is required by State Stature KRS 160.470.  The Tentative Budget must be approved by the local school district and submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education by 5/30 of each year. 

The budget committee has met since February 2026 creating the budget for FY2027.  

The budget committee will be looking into how cost saving measures can be incorporated into the budget.  At this time there are many unknowns related to the adoption of this budget.   Once those unknowns become available, the budget will be amended and will be reflected in the Working Budget that is presented to the Board of Education in September of each year.

• talking points for board meeting on tentative FY27 general fund budget for board portal 5-6-26
• tentative budget for FY27 for May - rolled over 3-13-26 for board portal 5-5-26
• tentative budget FY27

Pursuant to CIPS Policy 04.311 District Accounts, the district will follow state and federal laws and regulations regarding accounting practices.  The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) regulation 54 states if a district has an unreserved fund balance (now called unassigned fund balance) at fiscal year-end, the Board can approve committing funds. 

Examples of committed funds are; site-based carry forward funds, committing funds to purchase a bus, committing funds for technology needs or committing funds to balance next year’s budget.

The district needs to commit funds of approximately $25,000 for site-based carry forward (carryover) & approximately $8.2 million to be used to balance the FY’27 budget.

The Kentucky Department of Education requires Covington Independent Public Schools to approve the BG-5 Form to reflect the final project cost. After the BG-5 is approved with KDE, the unspent residual funds that are available can be used for other BG-1 capital projects.  Please see the attached BG-5 Form.  There are no residual funds tied to this project.

• BG 25-393 BG5 5-15-26

Each year the district has to take out a fidelity performance bond for the Finance Director since that position deals with the finances/money of the school district.  KDE determines the amount of the bond for each school district.  The amount of the bond for the Finance Director for Covington Independent Public Schools is $600,000. 

• Continuation Certificate on bond for A. Burtschy 5-21-26

Attached are the results of our proposals for our property, liability, worker compensation and cyber insurance for FY27. 

The Property/Liability package would be with Bluegrass Risk Management with a premium of $583,274 and the Worker’s Compensation package would be with KEMI at $82,292.  Cyber Policy is with Houston Casualty with a premium at $16,356.

The district’s current insurance provider/agent would still be with Crawford Insurance. 

CIPS Staff and Crawford Insurance have formed a safety committee to take a proactive approach to safety in our district. This committee continues to meet periodically.  Having this safety committee in place can only help decrease the number of claims & the mod factor over time for the district.  Both are used to determine the district’s premium.  If the district sees a decrease in both factors then the district could see a lower premium saving the district money. 

Per our insurance agent 5/26, Covington’s mod factor is going down from 0.75 to 0.69 which is one of the lowest experience MODS in the state. 

NOTE:  

5/20/26 The district is working with the agent to turn in more information on MFA on what is done in the district.  It was only a yes or no question on the application.  It is not a straight yes or no answer.  We are going back to the company to provide better clarification/context. This might result in our limits being changed. 

• insurance results for board 5-20-26

Pledge of Collateral

KRS 160.570 governs depositories for local boards of education. The statute requires each board of education to appoint a bank, trust company, or savings and loan association to serve as its depository. Section 2 of KRS 160.570, requires the depository, before entering its duties, provide collateral in accordance with KRS 41.240, approved by the local board of education in accordance with Kentucky Board of Education administrative regulations, and to be approved by the commissioner of KDE. The commissioner of KDE approves the pledge of collateral for each district annually.

The following are necessary steps to obtain the commissioner of KDE's approval of the Pledge of Collateral. This information is due to KDE by July 1 of each year:

1.     A Pledge of Collateral must be arranged to cover those funds exceeding FDIC insurance. Bank account balances continuously fluctuate, and KRS 41.240 requires adequate coverage as of “the last business day of each quarter in which funds are deposited", however; KDE recommends districts continuously monitor their account balances to ensure all funds are covered.

2.     Once a depository institution and the district's board of education agree upon the pledge to be provided, a written Pledge of Collateral Agreement is recommended by KDE. The written agreement provides evidence the board of education complied with statutes and regulations. Additionally, a written agreement will be necessary in the event of failure or insolvency of the depository institution. It is recommended the written agreement is signed by both parties, approved by the board of the depository institution or its loan committee, with approval reflected in the minutes of the board or committee, and an official record of the depository institution.  Additionally, the board of education will need a copy of the pledge for auditing purposes. As a courtesy, KDE has created a sample Pledge of Collateral agreement for district to use or model an agreement after.

        Pledge of Collateral Agreement and example 2021

3.     In order to receive the approval from the commissioner of KDE, certain information from the pledge of collateral agreement must be submitted annually at SEEK District Data Submission. To access the SEEK web-based site, a username and password must be obtained from your district's Web Administrator. The instructions are shown below, along with a list of "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ's). 

NOTE- In order to stay in compliance, districts must resubmit the information if the pledge of collateral agreement expires or changes during the fiscal year. KDE recommends districts continually monitor their bank balances for spikes to ensure adequate coverage and consult with their board to establish a policy for the minimum amount of coverage, whether it be at 100% or 103%.

Important Dates:

June 1 - The SEEK window will open for submission by district.
July 1 - Collateral pledges are due annually to KDE through the SEEK application.
July 31 - Report sent to the Commissioner of Education for approval.
August - Final Approval Report posted to KDE website.

• bond of depository form FY27

• 2025-2026 Amended Salary Schedule May2026

• 2026-2027 Salary Schedule.pdf

The Board of Education approve a renewal of the contract with Upbeat to provide a spring and fall survey of certified staff and consultation to principals. Additionally, Upbeat provides a survey and results for exit interviews, 

• Covington Independent Public Schools_Upbeat_Contract SY 26-27

Employee # 7094 has requested a leave of absence (FMLA) beginning 04/22/2026 and returning the first day of the 2026-2027 school year.  Leave will be partially paid. 

A blanket approval for Emergency Full-Time Teacher certification.  This will prevent the disruption of instruction in our classrooms. These teachers have a degree but do not have a Kentucky teaching certificate. Most will enroll in the MAT program for education or still need to take a praxis to be Kentucky certified.  All applicants for this emergency certification will be approved by the Superintendent via recommendation to hire form.  The Kentucky Department of Education only approves someone to be emergency certified twice in a life time.  

The Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board has implemented an online application for processing certification for emergency substitute teachers and has suggested creating a blanket approval and one Board order number to use on all applications for the emergency certifications for all substitutes not holding a regular Kentucky certification.  

Employee #1102 is requesting a leave of absence beginning 04/20/2026 and returning the first day for employees on 08/17/2026. Leave will be unpaid. 

Employee #7114 is requesting a leave of absence (FMLA) beginning 05/11/2026 and returning 06/02/2026.  Leave will be partially paid. 

Employee #6560 is requesting a leave of absence (FMLA) beginning 04/17/2026 and returning 05/05/2026.  Leave will be unpaid. 

Employee #7316 is requesting a leave of absence (LOA) beginning 05/15/2026 and ending 06/02/2026.  Leave will be unpaid. 

We respectfully request that the School Board approve of Cadet Sergeant Abdul Haseeb to attend College Orientation Workshop. To be considered for COW, he was required to complete an in-depth and thorough application package.  On May 9, 2026 we received the official word that he had been selected. He was chosen from a highly competitive group of applicants representing several states across the country. This opportunity is a significant accomplishment for Cadet Sergeant Haseeb and reflects positively on his dedication, leadership potential, and commitment to the MCJROTC program. 

• MCJROTC ~ VMI

Due to being awarded the Read to Achieve Grant, we are requesting approval for an additional interventionist at GOS, an additional interventionist at Latonia Elementary, and an additional media specialist (librarian).  Please see the attached proposal.

• RTA Grant - 3 additional positions request

The purchase agreement is to effectuate the sale of 257 Pike Street which is surplus property and no longer meets the educational needs of the District. The Board of Education desires to sell the property to the City of Covington pursuant to the terms detailed in the purchase agreement.

Visit EventLink.com for all athletic schedules. GO BULLDOGS!

An executive session in the event there needs to be any discussion regarding the purchases, the closed executive session would be pursuant to KRS 61.810 (1)(b).