Some of you may have heard about all the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) or the American Relief Plan (ARP) dollars the school is receiving.  Some of you may have heard that we are receiving USDA dollars for various building projects the school has committed to.  These are some amazing opportunities to invest in our school, but it can also be terribly confusing. I will start with the USDA dollars.  The school...

On September 2nd the school was notified that that USDA’s program that allowed for all students attending Elgin/New Leipzig to receive free lunches has received an extension.  This extension came as a surprise as we didn’t have any indication this was something in the works.  We’ve been collecting some information and getting trained on what exactly this extension means for the school.  Those of you following my articles also...

Free and Reduce Funding, How Does it Work? This year it is more important than ever to apply for Free & Reduced Lunch.  These numbers are critical in the allocation of state and federal dollars, not just our hot lunch funding. COVID-19 has negatively affected families and caused financial strain for many.  The impacts on the economy have also been detrimental.  It’s important for people who are affected in these ways to be...

In the recent past, a law was changed regarding when a school district was required to hold a Truth in Taxation meeting.  Previously the primary reason a school had to hold one of these meetings was that the school district raised taxes.  Since last year, a school district must hold one of these meetings every year regardless of whether taxes were raised or not.  The county auditors in which the district resides sends out the notices for...

So many people may wonder how or when a school district sets the levy (tax) dollars it will collect for a school year.  Who gets to decide how many tax dollars are requested?  Do additional projects or programs throughout the school impact this?  I’ll go into some detail about these questions and cover some of the basics regarding school district levies. Briefly, school districts request dollars and those dollars are converted into...

News from the Hill I have been attending the Educational Funding Formula Legislative Committee meetings in Bismarck.  The reason I am doing this is that changes are coming to how schools are funded and one way or another it will affect us.  Some of the major talking points have been: at what point does a school become too small, should the state provide funding for transporting students out of district, and what is the state’s share in...