Triton board approves plan to resolve deficit budget

Triton school board members took action Monday night to address the district’s financial situation with a plan to take its fund balance from negative to positive numbers.
The district moved into Statutory Operating Debt (SOD) on June 30, 2025, when its year-end negative general fund balance exceeded 2.5% of their operating expenditures. At that point, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) required the district to submit a Special Operating Plan by the end of January 2026.
An audit showed the district fund balance was -3.56% at the end of the 2024-2025 school year, according to Superintendent Luke Lutterman. He said budget changes already made for the current school year project that at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, the negative balance will be reduced to -1.26%.
The district anticipates the fund balance will move into positive territory — 3.37% — at the end of the 2026-2027 school year, and hit 11.5% at the end of the 2027-2028 school year.
Declining enrollment is the most significant contributor to the district’s financial challenges, Lutterman said. The district has also been impacted by the expiration of COVID-related Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, which resulted in the loss of federal revenue, as well as an increase in special education needs.
The board unanimously passed a resolution approving the submission of a Special Operating Plan to the MDE, agreeing to reduce current year’s expenditures by all legal means possible without negatively impacting current programs or contractual obligation. Officials also agreed to immediately discontinue the practice of approving deficit budgets.
According to the resolution, the district will create an unreserved fund balance of 11.5 percent within two years after the removal of SOD, will remove the condition of SOD by the end of FY26, and have a positive fund balance by FY27.
A second resolution was approved directing the administration to make recommendations for reductions in programs and positions. This resolution, Lutterman said, is normally approved each year.
In other action, the district reorganized for the new year. There were no changes in board officers with Wendy Kenworthy remaining as chair, Rebecca Knutson as the vice chair, Dale Jensen as clerk, and Jim Jensen as treasurer.
The board also approved the Dodge County Independent as the district’s legal newspaper. The vote came after officials split 3-3 on whether to appoint the DCI or the Dodge County Messenger.
Lutterman explained to the board that the district has worked well with both papers, but after consultation with the Minnesota State School Board Association and the Minnesota Association of School Administrators, he was recommending the district name the DCI the legal paper because of concerns about the Messenger’s “office of issue,” where the newspaper is physically located.
In other actions, the board approved applying for a co-op with the Kasson-Mantorville district for a girls soccer team, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. The board also approved a request for a dissolution of a co-op with Kasson-Mantorville for a boys soccer team, because of a lack of Triton students participating.