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Stevensville board authorizes 2024-25 budgets, approves transportation and program funding
Summary
The Stevensville School Board voted Aug. 13 to authorize elementary and high-school general-fund budgets and transportation budgets for fiscal year 2025, approved new district-funded activities and set priorities for spending. Trustees also discussed volunteer-coach compliance and directed administration on next steps.
The Stevensville School Board voted Aug. 13 to authorize the elementary district's general-fund budget authority for $4,615,583.43 and the high school's for $3,168,736.83 for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Those approvals followed a detailed presentation from district administrators and business staff explaining the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) forms, anticipated revenue streams and how federal and categorical funds (Title, IDEA, tuition funds and co-op payments) reduce the district's general-fund payroll obligations. Sam, the district business representative, answered trustees' questions about claims, activity accounts and specific line items.
Why it matters: The adopted budget authority sets how much the elementary and high-school districts may spend next year and determines how the district layers federal and other grants against local general-fund obligations. Administrators emphasized the budget has a thin margin and depends in part on reimbursement rules and cooperative payments.
Trustees also approved transportation budgets: $710,627.78 for the elementary transportation fund and $463,790.34 for the high-school transportation fund. Administrators said the transportation numbers reflect personnel and an expected 3.5% cost/mileage increase and that mill-levy calculations will follow as staff finalize tuition and special-education reimbursements.
Board action on programs and personnel: The board approved several activity- and program-related items in the same meeting. Trustees voted to: - Add middle-school cross-country (7th'8th grades) as a district-funded program; administrators said most travel will pair with the high-school team and initial costs are covered in prior fundraising. - Add boys' baseball as an MHSA-sanctioned activity using existing high-school activity funds (transportation excluded). - Approve an unpaid leave of absence for teacher Hannah Williams for the second semester (Jan. 21'June 6, 2025). - Reinstate the high-school Spanish club with an existing contractual stipend.
On volunteers and coaches, trustees and administration discussed setting a clear compliance timeline. The board requested that volunteer coaches complete required MHSA training, concussion protocol and first-aid/CPR certification and pass background checks; administration agreed to set a district timeline and offer centralized options to complete required items.
What's next: Administration will post adopted goals and budget priorities to the district website and continue work to finalize mill-levy implications, transportation planning and coach compliance steps. Trustees asked staff to return with any updates to grant reimbursements and to monitor transportation and cooperative-service cost pressures.
Vote note: The motions to authorize the elementary and high-school general-fund budgets and to adopt transportation budget authority were moved, seconded and approved by voice votes during the Aug. 13 meeting.
