MONROE — Members of the Monroe Board of Education approved the preliminary budget during a meeting Sept. 24, though Business Administrator Ron Olson said the district still needs to be notified of its membership by the state to ensure numbers.

The preliminary operating budget had changes from the draft viewed by school board members in June, Olson said. The district plans to present more finalized numbers in its annual meeting this month. Olson added that enrollment had not been finalized and that the district would not be informed of its equalized value until mid-October.

Olson said there are still key items not finalized and would likely only have numbers the day before the annual meeting.

The district still needs to consider the final state aid numbers before any finalization steps can be taken regarding the budget. The state aid impacts the levy amount and will not be released until Oct. 15. There also needs to be a final count taken of the number of students on the third Friday of the month to know both its revenue limit and the amount of allocated funding per student. The fall equalized values are typically released after Oct. 1 and determine the levy mill rate, which is also still unknown by the district.

He noted that in the preliminary budget, numbers had not shifted greatly with anticipated revenue. Without the addition of recent grants to be used toward specific improvements, like safety upgrades or tech teaching enhance, revenue had only increased by roughly $30,000. With the grants, the district saw a 1 percent increase of roughly $301,000.

However, Olson said “expenditures keep pretty flat as well.”

Within the preliminary budget, the operational debt service balance will be at zero by the end of June. Olson said that would be the first time since before Northside Elementary School was built.

The board also: 

♦ Heard a presentation about the German exchange student program, in its 30th year.

♦ Approved the retirement of 28-year employee Catherine Peters from Parkside Elementary School.

♦ Heard an update from Teri Montgomery on the success of summer school classes.

♦ Discussed mid-year progress on district goals with District Administrator Rick Waski, who said he felt most of the items in the first category had been addressed, and said the district has to work on creating a data collection system, ways to better connect students with community businesses and need to help elementary teachers understand they also contribute to workforce development because of consistency of the day and teach basics through presenters.

♦ Received an update on the mold remediation plans already approved for up to $30,000. Director of Building and Grounds Rich Zentner recommended Perfection Cleaning and Restoration of Freeport to clean the pipes and said the second round of air testing of general areas found that the air was safe.

♦ Heard an update from Monroe Middle School Principal Brian Boehm on the school’s latest active-shooter ALICE drill. Boehm said the half hour of training was followed by an evacuation drill which took just over four minutes. Boehm said the training included options for students in case they can’t get out of the building, like barricading the doors and other points of escape.