Board reviews departmental budget compliance, donations and principal reports; staff cites final categorical aid of $322,244

The board received the departmental monthly budget compliance report for December 2024 and other routine reports during the March 19 meeting.

County staff reported the December 2024 fiscal month is closed and that the district received a final categorical aid payment of $322,244; staff said the payment was a bit lower than expected because of unfilled positions in the 2024 fiscal year. Overall revenues may exceed the budgeted amount by about $84,000, primarily because of investment interest and Medicaid payments, staff said. On the expense side, December closed with approximately $500,000 in cost savings driven by lower-than-expected capital project expenses, conservative budgeting for open positions, lower insurance costs and reduced spending on supplies, utilities and repairs.

Staff also listed several donations: Lions Club chapters (Elkhorn, Delavan, East Troy, Fontana, Bigfoot, Genoa City, Palmyra, Sharon, Whitewater and Williams Bay) donated used annually to purchase student gifts for Lakeland School; a $765 donation from Happy Marina to offset outstanding lunch balances; $2,500 from the France Saint Francis Parish of Lake Geneva for the Lakeland High School department; $1,077 from Wisconsin State Council Knights of Columbus Twin Lakes in unrestricted funds supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities; and $1,000 from Nextdoor Pub and Pizza as an unrestricted donation. A board member asked whether outstanding student lunch balances are typically in the thousands; staff said they are “a couple thousand.”

Principal Smith reported completion of Act 20 facilitator training that will allow more in-house training delivery tied to Wisconsin Reads requirements, and described a March presentation at the 2025 Wisconsin Transition Conference on a service-level rating and transition-service delivery tool that drew interest from other districts; staff noted an invitation to present again at a May 6 event in Oshkosh tied to the Transition Improvement Grant of Wisconsin.

Why this matters: fiscal-year-end numbers, categorical aid and community donations affect program delivery and student supports; the principal’s training and statewide presentations reflect program-development activity that may affect service delivery.

No formal actions were taken on the budget report or donations at the meeting.