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District audit clean; finance committee launches long‑range budget planning as enrollment declines continue
Summary
Lauterbach & Amen presented a clean audit for the 2023–24 fiscal year. The finance and facilities committee reviewed enrollment projections showing a decade‑long decline and asked administration to develop a long‑range financial plan with community input, with recommendations due by the end of 2025.
Auditors from Lauterbach & Amen reported a clean audit of the School District of Waukesha’s 2023–24 financial statements to the finance and facilities committee and the full board on March 12; the presentation noted no internal control deficiencies or compliance issues in the district’s audit report.
Keri Kozlowski, who chairs the finance and facilities committee, summarized the committee’s March 10 discussion and subsequent presentation to the full board. The committee heard that the district’s long‑term resident enrollment has declined over the past decade and that projections show the trend continuing through at least 2034. Kozlowski and other board members emphasized the need to prepare a multi‑year operational plan rather than annual, short‑term fixes.
“Instead of making annual adjustments to meet the needs of the next 12 months, more planning is needed to develop a comprehensive and well thought out long term solution,” the committee summary said as presented to the board.
Board members raised particulars highlighted in the audit report: Diane Voigt pointed to the transfer needed from the general fund to cover special education costs and quoted a figure in the presentation showing $20,433,956 needed for special‑education transfers in the audit materials. Several board members said the clean audit demonstrates sound stewardship and asked that the administration return a detailed timeline and process for developing the multi‑year plan, with recommendations targeted for presentation by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
The finance and facilities committee also reported that 72% of levy tax payments had been received by Feb. 28 and that revenues and expenditures were within budget limits to date. The committee’s next steps include drafting a long‑range operational plan, seeking community input, and returning a detailed timeline and plan to the committee and board for consideration.
Why this matters: Declining resident enrollment combined with large and growing special education costs drive the district toward proactive, long‑range budgeting and operational planning. A clean audit provides the financial baseline the board cited while developing those plans.
