School board approves $4,000 to help four students attend SkillsUSA nationals

The Beloit School District board on Tuesday approved a $4,000 contribution to help four students and two chaperones attend the SkillsUSA national leadership conference in Atlanta.

Jeff Stenrews, who presented the request, said the chapter qualified for nationals after placing among the top finishers at state and estimated the trip cost at roughly $10,600 for flights, lodging, registration and ground transportation. He asked the board to fund $8,000 with the remainder covered through CTE-certification funds. Dr. Anderson called the students’ qualification “exceptional” and praised the district’s CTE programs.

Board members discussed where any board contribution would come from given tight district finances. Carol Fox said there is no spare “superintendent’s” pot of discretionary money anymore and urged the district to build future contest support into existing budgets rather than repeatedly asking the board for one‑time allocations. Megan Miller and others suggested short‑term fundraising and using district donation avenues while the board considers policy for contest funding.

A motion to provide $4,000 in board support passed 6–1, with Fox casting the lone dissent. Board members said the approved amount would partially offset travel costs while staff pursues other funding sources.

The board’s action does not cover the full requested amount; Mr. Stenrews said remaining costs would be drawn from existing CTE funds and outside donations as available.