District financial report: property-tax collections strong; technology budget approved for 2025–26

The Lane Township High School District reviewed its March financial statements and approved the 2025–26 technology budget at a regular meeting. District staff reported that funds funded by property taxes were more than 95% collected for the fiscal year as of March, and that non–property-tax funds were tracking closer to the percentage of the year completed (about 75%). Finance staff explained that some state payments (for example, transportation) come quarterly and that two of the quarterly payments had been received by March. The education fund appeared to reflect a lower percentage of payroll paid because many employees are 10‑month staff; their summer payrolls are processed in June, which increases year-end percentages. Board members were told that expenditures for projects such as roofing are paid from the Health Life Safety fund when work is completed; timing can shift which fiscal year records the expense. The March package also included revenues and expenditures for two entities for which the district serves as administrative agent (referred to in the packet as NSERC and EDRED) and noted a separate, deeper review at a special board meeting covering the third-quarter close. On the technology budget for 2025–26, staff presented a multi‑year view and listed major initiatives: auditorium production upgrades (including short‑throw projectors for scenery projection), replacement of some staff mobile devices and student laptops, routine Chromebook purchases (noted in the packet as roughly "almost a million dollars"), and continued investment in cybersecurity and software. Software costs were described as nearly half of the technology budget. Staff said the proposed technology budget is lower than last year, reflecting that the prior year included heavy equipment and server replacements; the district also advanced about $90,000 of server purchases into the current year to avoid expected tariff increases. The board approved the technology budget by roll-call vote after staff questions and discussion. The finance presentation ended with an invitation for board questions; none resulted in further substantive changes to the budget that were recorded in the transcript. The district did not announce an exact finalized total for the full budget in the meeting transcript; several numbers shown in presentations were described in relative or approximate terms rather than as a single final line-item total.