Sun Prairie Area School District reports 100% compliance on Operational Expectation 5, outlines 2025-26 financial goals

Sun Prairie Area School District officials told the board the district meets all 18 measures of Operational Expectation 5 and has achieved "100% compliance," and outlined financial priorities for the 2025-26 fiscal year, including a goal to make check preparation fully paperless.

The presentation was delivered by Superintendent Brad Saron and Matt Clark, the district's director of business and finance. Clark said the district's monitoring report and slideshow include supporting documents from budget reports and the annual meeting materials and reference the district's adopted 2025-26 budget.

"The district is in full compliance with all 18 operational expectations set by the school board. We achieved a 100% compliance," Clark said, summarizing the monitoring report and the documentation linked in the presentation.

Clark credited collaboration among business services, leadership and the school board for the results and thanked business office staff for their roles in payroll, accounts payable and accounting. He said the business office will continue to pursue professional development and process improvements.

Among the district's concrete goals for 2025-26, Clark identified moving to a fully paperless check preparation process. "Last year, we got to about 60% paperless with our check preps. And in 2025-26, our goal is to reach 100%," he said, adding that the change should boost efficiency for both the business office and school staff who make purchases.

Clark also said district administration and board members "will work together to interpret the revised OE-5 policy," which he described as guidance for monitoring the 2025-26 fiscal year and upcoming budgets. He framed those steps as part of a "future-focused financial planning" approach intended to conserve funds and delay the need for another operational referendum.

Placing the district's work in statewide context, Clark said schools face a difficult funding environment. "It's a very tough environment right now financially for districts across the state given the lack of state funding," he said, adding that the biennial state budget shows a 0% increase projected over the next two years.

The presentation concluded without a vote; Clark thanked the school board for its support and closed the OE-5 briefing.

Next steps described in the presentation include board and administration collaboration to interpret the revised OE-5 policy and ongoing monitoring through the district's reporting materials.