Huron district reports lower year‑to‑date spending; high‑school addition handed to district

Huron School District's business manager gave the board a midterm financial and facilities update at the Nov. 10 meeting, reporting lower year‑to‑date spending and progress on several construction projects.

"We're already 33% of the way through the 2526 fiscal year," Kelly Christopherson told the board and reported general‑fund collections of $7,131,000 (about 25% of the budget) and year‑to‑date spending of $6,882,000 (about 24%). Christopherson said spending is roughly $523,000 less than last year at the same point, but noted $225,000 of last year’s spending reflected ESSER grant funds; excluding those, the net reduction compared with last year is closer to $300,000.

Christopherson outlined where reductions are concentrated: a $125,000 decrease in buildings‑and‑grounds supplies and repairs and broadly lower supply and repair budgets across departments. The district said administrators have been encouraging more conservative spending.

On facilities, Christopherson said the high‑school addition is "substantially complete" and the district took ownership last Friday; the addition has been added to district property insurance and staff will occupy the space as departments organize. Middle‑school roofing work is underway with two crews; the main‑gym floor drying is complete and usage has resumed, and a partial high‑school roof replacement remains scheduled once the middle‑school work is finished.

Board member Ray raised a safety question about heating rubber‑membrane roofing during snowfall and whether contractors staging work on site could undermine student parking. Christopherson said available staging space would need to be used and deferred detailed staging and safety plans to the facilities lead.

Next steps: Christopherson said punch‑list items remain but work will continue through the winter. The finance details will inform ongoing budget conversations and any further adjustments the board may need to consider.