Byron school officials say financial future looking stable

Both Superintendent Nate Walbruch and Finance Director Shawn Elsbury told the board, that the district is getting back on track financially.

“Obviously I am grateful to the community for listening to us about the referendum,” Walbruch said. Many of the groups the board spoke to, he said, only meet once a month and they (the school) took up most of the meeting.

The next step for the district, he said, is to work on a strategic plan which has already started.

Elsbury told board members that compared to the situation last year at this time things are where they should be.

Expenditures are where the district has the most control and in that area the district is “tracking where it should be,” he said. “Overall everything looks very good, very healthy.”

The district has faced financial issues over the past several years and had to make budget cuts of nearly $3 million the past two years. At the November election voters approved a levy referendum that will bring in an additional $700 per pupil in the general fund. They also approved a capital technology level that will generate $250,000 annually for classroom technology, cybersecurity and school safety improvements.