MONTAGUE — Montague superintendent Jeffrey Johnson happily reported
the new Michigan budget and its effects on the school district during
Monday's regular board meeting.
The budget, which was approved
last week and signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after
legislators agreed to a brief extension to avoid a government shutdown,
set the per-pupil funding for districts at $10,050. According to a state
press release, that is a record high.
Johnson added that the
budget included a 25% increase in funding to help at-risk students.
While the district is still digging into all the numbers, the new budget
provides stability for the 2025-26 school year after local districts
had to approve their own budgets this summer without knowing how much
state funding they would receive.
Further good news came from
the recent completion of student count day. Johnson reported that the
district has 1,268 students in all, which is a decrease from a year ago
but 42 more than the amount it had budgeted for.
Also on the
topic of finances, the board unanimously approved a renewal of its
summer property tax collection from the City of Montague and White River
Township. Johnson said the district has done this since 2011, paying
the city and the township a small amount of money - $3 per parcel - in
order to collect tax revenue from those municipalities in the summer
rather than the winter. It is normal for other townships in the district
to disburse their property tax revenue in the winter, but collecting
from those two in the summer eases cash flow issues for the district and
provides access to funds that would otherwise need to be met by
borrowing.
The meeting also featured a presentation by
Montague FFA officers Jenna Woller, Dane Roesler and Elle Moran, who
shared various activities and accomplishments by the chapter over the
last year, including the national chapter award it won last spring. This
spring will mark the 95th anniversary of the Montague FFA, one of the
oldest chapters in the organization. Moran said several special events
are planned to celebrate the occasion, with more information to come in
the coming months.
The district also received its audit report
from Vredeveld Haefner, with partner Mike Vredeveld reporting a clean
audit. Johnson and board president Brent Raeth each complimented
director of business affairs Stacey Brown for her work on the audit.
Three
female Montague students spoke during public comment, requesting the
district return to allowing white caps and gowns as an option for
graduation. The district used to have male graduates wear blue and
females wear white, but have since switched to all blue. The students
did not ask that the white gowns be gender-specific, but merely offered
as an option to graduates. They stated that with order forms being due
Friday, it was a timely request.
