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The Chisago Lakes School board met on Thursday, December 11 for their last meeting of the 2025 calendar year. The short meeting covered a few major topics – Truth in Taxation, the certified final levy and the 2025 final audit.

The district proposed their original levy in September, and the final number remained the same and was finalized at this meeting. Residents would have gotten their proposed property tax statements in November.

The final certified levy number was just a shade over $11.6 million, which is a $66,000 increase over last year’s $11.54 million levy. The general fund will be going down by $140,000 while the Community Service Fund will go up $108,000 and the Debt Service Fund levy will go up $96,000.

The audit, which was conducted by the district’s long time firm Abdo, came back clean and in order. The auditor’s opinion was unmodified, which is good in audit-speak, and Abdo rep John Stachel, a supervisor, said there are no instances of non-compliance.

The general fund budget grew by $3 million to $12 million and the district now carries 27 percent of their general fund expenses when the suggested balance is 7-10 percent.

The presentation featured a breakdown that shows the district funding per student is nearly $1,500 behind the Region 7 average (The region includes Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec and Mille Lacs Counties) and over $2,000 behind the state average.

Board member Jeff Lindeman questioned the rest of the board after seeing those numbers. “What does everyone see when you see the state averages and then Chisago Lakes? What do you think of that?”

Fellow board member Sarah Aadland responded, saying “I think it says we do a whole lot with a lot less.” Lindeman agreed, saying it’s a main point of frustration for him when he sees social media posts disparaging the district in comparison to other local and state level schools.

Lindeman also asked Stachel what he thought of CL’s funding numbers compared to other districts Abdo works with. Stachel said he does work with districts that are funded above state averages, and with a chuckle, Lindeman quipped, “I’ve got to think sitting in those school board meetings is a little different than sitting in this school board meeting.”

Stachel did follow up by saying the numbers bear out as a positive sign that the district is being responsible. “To me, it looks like the district is under spending,” he said.

Board member Josh Soderlund chimed in, saying, “We spend dollars efficiently. The data says where the funding is at and there is a massive disparity. We are keeping our district healthy in the best way we can, and that’s hard work.”

But, Lindeman cautioned that despite the good work he feels is being done in the district, they aren’t at a point to exhale or celebrate. “We’re as healthy as we can be, and that’s what an audit is about. But it doesn’t tell the rest of the story. I don't think we'd be going for bonds and levies and we would be constantly cutting if we had a little more to spend.”

To close out the meeting the district accepted some generous donations from the Chisago Lakes PTO, the Lions Club, Shafer Fire Department and Center City Fire Department. The donation will be used for a myriad of activities, including Wold Ridge field trip, the National Honor Society, I Love to Read Month, an Explora Dome and novels for fifth graders. The donations totaled over $20,500 in all.

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