The Glen Lake Board of Education acknowledged Wednesday night that the school will not sprint for a mileage this spring after a failed $35 million bid was rejected in fall 2023.
The Laker administration has its eyes set on the November ballot instead with an updated, early-target price of $20 to $25 million being discussed.
A big reason for the change of heart is the cost of being a single issue on a ballot that could run the school upwards of $30,000 instead of going with the cheaper option of being on the November ballot Glen Lake Community Schools amended its budget on Monday night with mostly good news as property tax revenue is up nearly $400,000 from original budget, according to finance director Ben Papes.
Glen Lake’s amended revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year is 18,043,661. The school is projecting a 1.8 million dollar surplus.
Roughly $750,000 of the $1.8 million will be transferred to capital projects. It was noted by administrators that $750,000 is a fraction of what’s needed to update the building’s infrastructure and doesn’t make a dent in anything pressing such as HVAC, roofing, among other large ticket projects. Glen Lake’s food service is down $150,000 due to the state’s free school meal plan.
The amended budget comes as Glen Lake is getting more-and-more concerned about its aging infrastructure that has massive price tags looming with no date in sight.
The Lakers are also growing exceptionally worried about its new septic system and field that was supposed to be constructed last summer. Glen Lake’s new septic field is expected to cost at least $2.5 million instead of $2 million that was discussed last summer in a May 11 Enterprise article ‘G-L eyes fall bond request.’
Bids are out for the septic system, but school administrators seem in the dark about when they will get any solid plans from engineers, and how much that will cost exactly.
The school finalized plans to install $750,000 worth of windows this summer. The board also discussed secure entry updates to immediately update that part of the school.
