Finance committee discusses transport costs, federal aid scenarios and food service contract

The finance committee reported March 25 on planning items that could affect next year's operating budget, including transportation costs, the district's food service contract and contingency planning for reductions in federal aid.

Committee member Mr. Suss said the committee ran a scenario for a complete federal aid cut and concluded "it's not a large part of our budget, but it would have an impact." The committee examined end‑of‑year budget options for any surplus and discussed transportation, including per‑student busing costs and whether to offer a partial payment plan for families; board members said the district has sometimes struggled to collect bus fees in the past.

The committee discussed possible district use of the auditorium for events and noted administrators were exploring whether that would be a rental or internal use; members also reviewed plans to update the food service contract for the coming year and to continue YMCA wrap‑around programming. A potential auditorium use was described as "potential use" and not a finalized agreement.

The committee said it will continue to review transportation pricing and collection approaches and will bring recommended contract changes to the board for approval. The committee's meeting schedule was discussed and public meeting dates will be confirmed on the district calendar.