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Administrator’s Corner by Jennifer Walsh

I often get asked if the school district business office staff works during the summer, and the answer is a resounding “Yes!”. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, so we have been busy since then making all of the necessary year-end entries for the auditors to review. An annual independent audit of the district’s finances is a legal requirement in Minnesota. This helps ensure that the district handles its finances accurately and in accordance with accepted accounting procedures. The auditors will present the 2021-22 audit at the Dec. 5 school board meeting.

Our facilities department has also had a busy summer overseeing several projects throughout the district: Part of the high school was re-roofed, the parking lot at Lakeview was expanded, windows were replaced at Halverson and the Southwest Middle School gym floor is in the process of replacement after it was flooded. In addition to these and other projects, our custodial staff deep cleans all of the buildings in anticipation of a new school year.

As this year unfolds, we have identified safe and welcoming entrances at each of our buildings as a priority.  The board approved a bond sale, which will provide just under $1 million to address school entrance upgrades. We are starting at the high school, which will require relatively minor renovations to the main entrance. Once complete, visitors will be greeted by a staff person before getting buzzed through into the school. Throughout the course of the next few months, we will develop plans to provide similar entrances at all of the schools. 

Food Service also falls under the business office umbrella. For the past two years the federal government has funded free meals for all students, but that program is not in place for the 22-23 school year.  We understand this will greatly impact all families, some more than others. To assist these students who do not qualify for free lunches, we have started “Tiger Trays.” Our goal with Tiger Trays is to raise $15,000, which we anticipate will cover the costs of a lunch every day for those students whose families narrowly miss the cutoff for free meals. It will also be used to help families whose circumstance changes throughout the year. In addition, the district is using some of the food service fund reserves to provide free breakfast to all students. 

Jennifer Walsh is the director of finance and operations for the Albert Lea school district.