Superintendent reports $700,000 year‑over‑year budget improvement, cites black‑ice bus decision and structural inspection

During the superintendent's report at the Jan. 22 meeting, district leaders presented a tentative budget and operational updates for the board's review ahead of the February meeting.

The budget summary provided by Mr. Yost showed the district is "around 700,000 ahead" compared with December 2024, according to the report. Presenters said much of the flexibility comes from moving funds from grants rather than the general fund and that the district expects a positive budget picture going into the next fiscal cycle.

The report also described an unexpected weather event that morning. Administrators said black ice formed on multiple routes between about 6:45 and 7 a.m.; staff monitored conditions, considered how many students were on buses and, when necessary, turned buses around or sent vans to transport students safely. The presenter emphasized "safety first" as the guiding principle and said only one complaint had been received about the day's operations.

Facility safety was also addressed: the district's structural engineer performed a full walk‑through of the middle school over the break and reported "no change" to the monitoring gauges, concluding the middle school is structurally sound and can house students.

Other operational notes included high absenteeism at some schools due to flu‑ and COVID‑like illnesses and the district's ability to exclude up to five lowest‑attendance days from average daily attendance calculations. The board was told continuing education requirements and a KSBA conference in February are upcoming obligations for members and staff.

No formal board actions were taken during the superintendent's report; budget documents were left for board review prior to the next regular meeting.