Who decides what

Key facts

• Voters decide whether the district may borrow for buildings, like the $762.8 million bond in 2023.¹
• The board sets limits on each loan sale, then staff and advisers sell inside them.²
• Building contracts of $100,000 or more go to the board.³
• Many votes happen on the consent list, in one vote with no separate discussion.⁴

In short

Voters decide how much the district may borrow.¹ The board sets limits on each loan sale, and staff sell inside them.² Many big items pass in one vote with others.⁴

Why it matters to your tax bill: voters set the most the debt tax can be asked to repay. The board decides when and how it is borrowed.

Related: 2026 05 07 series 2026a · consent votes · board of trustees

Layer 1: The short version

Who	What they decide	Example
Voters	Whether to allow new building loans	2023 bond: up to $762.8 million.1
Board (7 elected trustees)	Budget, tax rate, big contracts, loan limits	May 2026: up to $100 million in new loans.2
Superintendent and staff	Day-to-day spending, smaller contracts, smaller change orders	Change orders under the board’s limit.3
Advisers and bankers	How a loan sale is set up, inside the board’s limits	See bond team.
The state	Rules, ratings, audits	See The state’s role.

Layer 2: Where the lines are

• Loans. Voters approve the total. The board then passes a “parameters” order for each sale: the most to borrow, the latest payoff date, the least savings for refinancing. Staff sign the final deal.²
• Building contracts. Board policy says construction contracts of $100,000 or more go to the board. Changes above $40,000 of a certain type need board approval. The superintendent must log smaller changes and report them every three months.³
• Buying things. The district’s posted local policy still says purchases of $50,000 or more must be bid. State law now sets that line at $100,000. The posted local rule has not been updated to match.⁵
• Consent list. Many big items pass in one vote with others. The bond adviser’s 2026 contract did.⁴

Layer 3: Why it matters

When the board sets limits and staff act inside them, the vote shows only the limits. The final deal shows up in papers that come later. To follow the money, look at both the vote and the papers that come after. See the 2026A decision.

The other side

• Limits have a reason. Loan prices change from day to day, so the final terms are not known when the board meets. The limits order is the board’s check: staff can’t go past it.²
• Consent does not mean secret. Consent items are posted on the agenda before the meeting. Any trustee can ask to pull one out for its own vote, and this board has done so a few times. See consent votes.
• Staff still report back. The superintendent must report smaller contract changes to the board every three months.³

Questions to ask

• Does the district post the superintendent’s change-order reports?
• Where is the board policy on the contract limit for the superintendent?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.

What you can do or watch next

• Read board agendas before each meeting.
• You can ask a trustee to pull a consent item for discussion, or speak at public comment.

What we don’t know yet

• Whether the superintendent’s quarterly change-order reports are public.
• The dollar limit for contracts the superintendent can sign alone.

Footnotes

1. 2023 bond authorization, May 6, 2023 election. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Board packet, May 7, 2026 (meeting 738502), pp.207, 210, 224. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. Board policy CV(LOCAL), adopted Apr. 2, 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. BoardBook agenda, Jan. 22, 2026, consent item 5.G. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Board policy CH(LOCAL), issued Aug. 3, 2023, and CH(LEGAL), issued Nov. 10, 2025. ↩