Superintendent reports progress on school construction, meal applications and FY27 budget timeline

Superintendent Larson updated the Brandon Valley School District 49-2 board on several operational matters, including construction, meal applications and the timeline for the FY27 budget.

Larson said work at Brandon Valley Elementary and the Brandon Valley Middle School addition continues to progress and that the current goal is to enclose buildings ahead of winter to allow interior work to continue. He noted that road-construction impacts are affecting district operations in places and that staff have communicated with local PTA groups about minor boundary changes tied to river-following right-of-way alignments.

Larson reiterated that families may apply for free and reduced-price meals at any time if circumstances change, and said the district offers meals to those who qualify. He told the board the state report card results will be presented on Nov. 24 at the board’s "state of the schools" address and said the district has had an approximate enrollment increase of 80 students. He reviewed the draft academic calendar and said the tentative adoption timeline includes a first presentation at the first January meeting and potential action at the second meeting in January; the preliminary capital outlay review and staff-position requests are planned in the months that follow as part of the FY27 process.

Larson also announced a staff holiday luncheon Dec. 4 at Brandon Lutheran Church and noted district participation in American Education Week Nov. 17–20 and forthcoming ASB delegate assembly activities.