Big Lake school board approves insurance-funded repairs, hears enrollment uptick and state budget updates

The Big Lake Public School District board on Jan. 21 accepted contractor bids to repair hail damage across multiple district buildings and approved a contract to replace exhaust fans, while hearing a finance update that showed the district is slightly above its revised budgeted average daily membership.

District finance staff told the board the district’s January enrollment report showed gains concentrated in Big Lake Online and some increases at Liberty Elementary. “What that shows graphically is that we are actually above our budget,” Angie said while presenting enrollment charts and budget status. Angie also told the board that a new state report reduced an earlier projection of a $150,000 drop in compensatory revenue to a roughly $50,000 decrease under current law.

Why it matters: The board’s contract approvals will use insurance proceeds to repair multiple roofs and building envelopes and fund mechanical work at several schools, and the state budget and aid changes described by staff could affect the district’s FY2026 operating budget.

Enrollment and state budget items Angie, speaking during the financial report, said Big Lake Online accounted for the bulk of month-to-month enrollment growth and that the district’s ADM sits a few students above the revised budget. She briefed the board on state-level changes that affect district revenue: a recent state report reduced the district’s expected compensatory-revenue loss from about $150,000 to roughly $50,000. Angie also summarized elements of the governor’s budget proposal, including a one-time statewide $30 million appropriation to cover summer-term unemployment costs for the next fiscal year; proposed reductions to special-education transportation reimbursement (95% reimbursed in FY2026 and 90% in later years under the proposal); elimination of Q-Comp beginning FY2027; suggested changes to…