Boyceville school board approves preliminary budget
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BOYCEVILLE — The Boyceville Community School District Board of Education breezed through its July 19 regular meeting which was held in the Tiffany Creek Elementary Media Center, taking just a half hour to clear its agenda which included the approval of the 2023-24 preliminary budget.
With board president Tim Sempf absent, vice president Jeremy Mittlestadt aptly led his colleagues through the July agenda with members approving a preliminary budget for this coming school year. Early financial figures show the district with estimated revenues of $9,849,705 against expenses of $9,996,083 for a projected deficit of $146,378.
Despite the current negative balance, superintendent Nick Kaiser was optimistic.
“We are in a much better place than where we were sitting at a year ago,” stated Kaiser.
The balance sheet showed the district’s main revenue sources coming from local taxpayers, to the tune of $1,740,123, and state aid which should tally around $6,154,499. The bulk of expenses, a projected $6,462,964, were for salary and benefits for teaching, support and administrative staff, coaches, advisors and school board members. Another $1.1 million will go toward the operation of the special education department and $962,832 will be used to cover open enrollment expenses.
Buildings and grounds maintenance will add another $450,000 in expenses, transportation and fuel are projected to cost the district $87,000 and insurance premiums will take another $185,000.
In other business, Patrick Gretzlock, high school/middle school principal, and RuthAnn Ledgerwood, high school English teacher, were at the meeting to update the board on a proposed new English Language Arts (ELA) resource for grades 6-10.
Gretzlock and Ledgerwood told the board that a pair of ELA resources were piloted in the seventh and eighth grade classes this past academic year with English department members settling on “Study Sync” by McGraw-Hill as the desired resource option.
Study Sync would provide teachers with best practices and a curriculum foundation that could be followed in all five grades and provide important student-based performance data.
The board was not asked to take action on the proposal at this meeting but Gretzlock did tell members the resource would cost about $35,000 or $90 per student over the next three years.
In other action, the board approved a budget revision to the 2022-23 budget and the 2023-24 Wisconsin Model Academic Standards. It also accepted the donation of an enclosed trailer from the Boyceville Junior Bulldogs football organization that can be used by various school organizations.
Finally, the annual meeting and budget hearing are slated for Wednesday, October 11 at 6 p.m.