Portage Township School Board adopts 2025 budget, capital plan, bus replacement plan and approves SRO MOU and grants

At a regular Portage Township School Board meeting, trustees approved a package of 2025 budget and operations resolutions, accepted state grants and authorized several contracts and agreements.

Adopted budget and tax rates: Administrators read Resolution R19-2024 to adopt fund-by-fund budgets and tax levies. The superintendent reported the district’s adopted totals—rainy day fund $4,000,000; debt service fund $12,000,299 (adopted levy $10,430,580); school pension debt $664,384 (levy $664,384); education adopted budget $55,325,500; operations adopted budget $25,141,300—yielding a total adopted budget of $97,131,483 and an adopted tax levy of $25,393,964. The board moved to approve Resolution R19-2024 and carried the motion by roll call.

Capital projects and buses: The board adopted Resolution R17-2024 (2025 capital project plan) and Resolution R18-2024 (bus replacement plan), each read into the record with citations to the required public hearings (held 09/30/2024) and approved by roll call.

Fund transfer: The board approved Resolution R20-2024 authorizing the treasurer to transfer up to $6,400,000 in 2025 from the Education Fund to the Operations Fund to cover expenditures not allowable as direct student instruction under IC 20-42.5. Administrators said the district typically transfers less than the 15% statutory cap (this year proposed at about 11.4%) and will use transfers for utilities, custodial, maintenance and similar operational costs.

Financial goals: The board adopted Resolution R21-2024 setting long-term financial goals, including striving to increase the percentage of spending directed to student instructional expenditures in accordance with IC 20-42.5-3.

SRO Memorandum of Understanding: The board approved a one-year memorandum of understanding with the City of Portage Police Department for four full-time School Resource Officers (two assigned to Portage High School and one at each middle school), with the officers employed by the Portage Police Department. The MOU is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, and will be billed per semester; the contract renews automatically for one year unless either party gives notice by Nov. 1. One board member who participates on the city Board of Works said they voted for the MOU at the city meeting and abstained from the district vote.

Grants and contracts: The board accepted an Indiana Department of Education paraprofessional training grant for $11,273.50 to provide training in learner development and individual differences and accepted a $50,000 Indiana Department of Education K–12 robotics competition grant for robotics equipment. Contracts approved included a Mindplay subscription ($11,950) funded by Title I for reading intervention and a Securly Hall Pass agreement for Portage High School ($12,180.35) at $4.55 per student for 12 months. The board also approved 2025 ISBA membership dues ($6,250).

Employee handbook: Trustees approved changes to the employee handbook removing restrictions on using sick/personal days immediately before or after vacations/holidays and removing the requirement to exhaust PTO before using accrued sick days for employees with PTO who are not in a collective bargaining group.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting): Resolutions R17, R18, R19, R20, R21, the SRO MOU, both grants, contracts (Mindplay and Securly Hall Pass), ISBA dues and handbook changes were moved, seconded and approved by roll calls; the SRO MOU recorded at least one abstention by a board member who had participated in the city vote.

The board received the SEL presentation for information earlier in the meeting; no action was required on that item. The meeting adjourned with superintendent remarks and announcements of upcoming community events.