Some of the Blue Earth Area Elementary School students in the “Elementary Buddies” program gave their update on the program at the School Board meeting.

The revised budget for Fiscal Year 2025 was top priority on the agenda for the Blue Earth Area School Board meeting on March 10, with data generally trending positive and only a few areas to keep an eye on moving forward.

Fiscal Services coordinator Alan Wilhelmi presented the revised budget to the school board, discussing each item in order of appearance and explaining how estimates had changed between the original budget and the revised version.

“When calculating the revised budget, there was a slight change based on student enrollment numbers – also known as average daily membership (ADM),” Wilhelmi explained. “Our original budget was calculated with an ADM of 1,007, while the revised budget was calculated with an ADM of 1,001. It’s a small adjustment, ultimately, but it did shift some of our numbers a bit.”

Wilhelmi was cautiously optimistic about the revised budget, indicating that almost every area looked at was showing positive trends for the upcoming fiscal year.

“Overall, I would say our district is operating within a balanced budget,” Wilhelmi said. “Given our success in keeping the budgets balanced last year and the year before, we have a little bit of a tailwind coming into this year, which is a good thing. We’ll have some room to maneuver financially if some of our funding falls through.”

As of the current revised budget calculations, the district’s total revenues for FY 2025 are budgeted at $18,984,869.93, while its total expenditures are budgeted at $18,709,223.01. This would leave BEA with a positive budget of $275,646.92.

One item of note that was removed from this year’s revised budget was the purchase of new cafeteria tables, which has been shifted from this year’s budget to the upcoming FY 2026 budget.

“The funds for these new tables will be coming out of the Food Service Fund (FSF), which is a recent change that was made to allow that fund to be used for purchases relevant to updating cafeteria amenities,” Wilhelmi shared. “We also recently used that fund to invest in some new hot and cold wells for the cafeteria, so it makes sense to be able to use those funds to get some new cafeteria tables as well.”

Board member Stacy Beyer expressed interest in where the money for the FSF was coming from at the federal level, specifically in relation to Title I and II funds, both of which provide federal funding for food service in schools.

“How much would you estimate our school district is currently receiving in Title I and II funds?” Beyer asked. “I’d be curious to know those figures.”

“Currently, I’d estimate that we’re receiving about $317,000 in combined funds from Title I and II, with Title II contributing about $50,000,” Wilhelmi responded. “While we do get a lot of funding for our FSF through these programs, we’ve also been getting a lot of funds through food service reimbursements. Post-pandemic, these reimbursements have actually surpassed the amount of Title I and II funding we’ve been receiving in the past few years.”

Another board member, Kyle Zierke, raised a question about the finances allotted to the Community Service Fund (CSF), specifically noting that it seemed lower than previous years.

“I noticed that our funds for community service are lower than the expenditures in that category, and I was wondering why that is,” Zierke remarked. “Those programs are still really popular, especially the Community Education programs, but it seems like less and less funding goes to that area every year. If these trends continue, that area may lose funding altogether.”

“Yes, the CSF is the one area of our budget that’s struggling right now,” Wilhelmi admitted. “Part of the issue is trying to find the minimum number of staff required to service the current demand for Community Ed programs, especially for the programming for younger kids, where certain group sizes for those classes are required. Once we find that minimum, I think it will be a lot easier to get our funding back up into the black for that area.”

A final question concerning the means by which the revised budget was calculated in regards to student enrollment was brought forward by board member Mark Franta.

“When making the revised budget, how do you decide whether to use the ADM versus seat count for factoring in student enrollment?” Franta asked. “Enrollment numbers tend to fluctuate in spring semester, and I’m wondering how that impacts the budget.”

“I used the ADM to determine both the original and revised budgets,” Wilhelmi explained. “Seat count can be somewhat inaccurate, especially when, like you said, enrollment fluctuates in the spring. ADM is weighted such that it takes the average student attendance over the course of the school year, rather than a day-to-day count. That way you’re not constantly readjusting your numbers because a student dropped out or enrolled from one day to the next.”

Other topics that were discussed at the School Board meeting included:

• Dave Dressler gave an update on student participation in winter sports. In total, there were 140 students who participated in the 2024-25 winter sports season at BEA, and preliminary student responses for spring sports interest numbered at 156.

• A small group of first-grade students, accompanied by fourth-grade teachers Cathy Bell and Dani Morris, gave a presentation on the Elementary Buddies program. All of the students from the first and fourth grades meet together for a half-hour session once a month to engage in reading and math activities together.

• The April work session was tentatively scheduled for either April 16 or 23 at 5:30 p.m., with the exact date dependent on scheduling availability for the board members.

• Wilhelmi presented the Fiscal Year 2025 Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 75 Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) valuation for approval, along with an agreement with VIA Actuarial Solutions for FYE 2026 and 2027 valuation reports. Both were unanimously approved by the board.

•The list of coaches for the upcoming spring sports season was unanimously approved.

• The high school schedule change from the current block schedule to a seven-period day schedule starting in Fall 2025, previously presented at the Feb. 10 School Board meeting, was approved unanimously by the board.

• An agreement with Jeremy Coxworth, president of the Blue Earth Diamonds, for the preparation of the softball fields for the 2025 sports season was unanimously approved.

• A lane change for Brittany Eckhardt, the retirement of Sue Vogelsang, and the resignation of Cameryn Kidder were all approved.