Clayton Board of Education — June 3: the 2026-27 budget, modular classrooms for Glenridge, and a CFO's farewell
Outgoing CFO John Brazeal presented a 2026-27 budget shaped by Prop O and capital spending, the board weighed a modular-classroom plan for Glenridge, and it approved a state assessment pilot.
What happened
The School District of Clayton Board of Education met on June 3 with the 2026-27 budget as the main event. Outgoing Chief Financial Officer John Brazeal presented the budget as ready for adoption, the board weighed a modular-classroom plan for the Glenridge area, and approved the district's participation in a state assessment pilot.
What the board decided
A motion was made to approve the 2026-27 budget, including federally funded expenditures, as presented. The board approved the district's participation in the Success Ready Student Assessment Pilot and moved its consent agenda (items 5.2 through 5.10).
Who was there
Board member Pam Lyss-Lerman was absent, an excused absence. A full attendance roster will be in the official minutes.
What they debated
Brazeal told the board the budget was prepared as required by statute and policy and ready for adoption, and that it differs from prior years mainly because of Proposition O spending and increased capital spending, with revenue shifted from the operating fund to the capital fund. He said operating fund balances would decline slightly but stay above the board's policy floor of 25%, and described the district's financial position as strong.
On capital projects, Brazeal said estimates were unchanged since February and that revised numbers would come by August. Among the largest programs he named about $28 million at Glenridge, $8 million for the Clayton High School CTE addition, and $9 million for Gay Field, plus budget-funded work including Performing Arts Center noise and HVAC improvements, Adzick Field improvements, and the Wydown Middle School field.
The board took up a plan for a modular school facility on the Fontbonne University campus, preferred for its proximity to the Glenridge attendance area, with the district still working toward an agreement with Washington University for the site.
Brazeal put the cost of the modular structures at about $1.3 million on delivery, plus monthly rent and a return charge, with site-prep costs still to be determined, and said the district had cut the rent by roughly $114,000 through a SourceWell cooperative-purchasing agreement. The units would be tied down against storms.
Staff asked the board to authorize the superintendent and CFO to negotiate and execute an agreement with Mobile Modular, pending legal review, with a target of a lease by August, demolition this fall, and the classrooms ready by mid-May.
Also at the meeting
Brazeal, who is leaving the district, reflected on his time with the board:
this was kind of an unexpected adventure in my career, and it's been a highlight of my career— June 3, 2026 — Meeting Transcript [#qbcec13e9]
In committee news, members reported that the CRSWC held its first post-election meeting, dealing in part with storm damage, electing officers, and approving a new touch-sensor scoreboard system for swim meets.
In context: from a May preview to a June adoption
The budget did not arrive cold. Brazeal told the board this was the second look at it: at the May 13 meeting the district had presented a preliminary budget, and on June 3 it was turning that into the proposed budget for adoption. Between the two, he said, the only changes were minor corrections — about $63,000 of increased spending in the operating fund and roughly $197,000 of decreased spending in the capital fund, the latter a duplicate entry — plus clearer labels on the capital-improvement projects. The May 13 session is where the incoming finance chief was also named, the transition this farewell meeting completes.
Because the work had been previewed, the June 3 discussion was brief. One member noted that the board had talked the budget through two weeks earlier and had follow-up questions answered by email, including detail on additions for summer camps and student services.
The capital spending the budget carries traces back to the April bond vote. The CFO reminded the board that voters had authorized $135 million in April, with a first tranche of about $45 million of general-obligation bonds expected this fall. The district had spent the winter making that case: it placed the $135 million, no-tax-rate-increase question on the April 7 ballot at its January 21 meeting as the first phase of its Long-Range Facilities Master Plan, and voters approved Proposition O with about 89% support on April 7. The January 21 vote is the meeting that set the bond question this budget now spends against.
Public comments
The chair opened the floor for public comment; the meeting video does not record any being given.