WHITEHALL — The Whitehall school board unanimously approved a preliminary budget for 2025-26 at its regular Monday meeting, though as with many other school districts in the state, it's likely amendments will be made due to uncertainty regarding state education funding.
State law requires a school district notify the state education department if it passes a deficit budget, as Whitehall did Monday. Treasurer Jimmy TenBrink said it's unknown what state funding for education will be this year as a state budget has not yet been passed. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proposed an increase in state funding to $10,000 per pupil from last year's figure of $9,608. The state legislature is mulling a budget that could provide for a slightly larger increase, though the issues of providing students free meals and how much focus should be given to mental health and school safety are generating discussion.
In the interim, Whitehall is budgeting for a decrease in revenue, in part because it is projecting 17 fewer K-12 students than it had in the district last school year. Also a factor in the decreased budget will be Headlee rollbacks, which will lower the millage rate the district will collect on non-exempt property to 17.4975 mills from the 18 required to receive all available state funding. Superintendent CJ Van Wieren said this budget reflects why the district asked for the authority to levy up to 20 mills in the recent operations millage renewal that passed in May; the previous renewal, which is in place through the 2025-26 school year, provided for up to 18.5 mills, which proved insufficient to counter the Headlee rollbacks. Those rollbacks ensure millage rates are lowered if property values rise faster than inflation.
Also during the budget presentation, business manager Tayler Zweigle said the Lighthouse preschool program is currently operating at a deficit and will be raising its tuition by a not-yet-determined amount to help cover the deficit.
The school board unanimously gave Van Wieren a rating of "effective" for the 2024-25 school year, the highest possible rating it could give. Board president Rachel Fekken thanked the rest of the board for conducting an in-depth evaluation, adding that board members were required to take a course just to do so. Trustee Paula Martin said Van Wieren has positioned the district "right where we need to be."
During the superintendent report, Van Wieren said the district will change custodial providers for next school year from Enviro-Clean to West Michigan Janitorial. He said other nearby districts have also been switching to the smaller company and Whitehall is confident the change will be a positive one for the school.
