Portage Township Schools is on track to approve a $97.1 million budget this month.

The budget introduced at Monday night’s school board meeting includes $44.3 million for education, $25.1 million for operations, $12 million for debt service, $4 million for the rainy day fund and $664,384 to pay toward school pension debt.

The school pension debt will be paid off in 2026.

Director of Finance Nicholas Gron went into details.

The state funding for education amounts to about $7,455 per student. That includes 79% for education programs, 19.4% for student support services and 1.6% for curriculum material.

Portage Township Schools’ assessed value is almost $2.8 billion, ranking seventh out of the eight school districts in the Duneland Athletic Conference. However, Portage is tied with Valparaiso for third when it comes to the number of students, Gron said.

The rainy day fund, which gets $4 million per year, is only for emergency use, he said. It was last used between 2016 and 2019 for Portage High School West classroom renovations.

Portage gets low interest rates for bonds because of the district’s A+ credit rating, Gron said.

No one spoke at Monday’s public hearing on the budget.

The district plans to replace five buses per year through 2029. Previously, the district replaced seven to eight buses per year, he said, but there are fewer bus routes, so the transportation team recommended replacing only five per year.

Capital projects for 2025 include $1.2 million for solar projects at elementary schools, aimed at reducing electric bills, and $2.8 million each for HVAC improvements at South Haven, Myers and Kyle elementary schools.

The HVAC improvements are intended to improve air quality in the schools for a better learning environment, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said.

The budget and school bus replacement plan, along with the capital projects plan, are set to be approved at the board’s Oct. 14 meeting.

Last week, the district issued a bond to pay for the construction of a new middle school and the demolition of Ayleworth Elementary School and Willowcreek Middle School at the same site. Willowcreek will be razed after the new middle school is erected where Aylesworth now stands.

At Monday’s meeting, a district retiree suggested naming the new middle school for former educator Jerry Dixon. “Jerry was very much a middle school advocate,” he said. “Jerry did very well with these students.”

“Dixon Middle School has a nice ring to it,” he said.

Alaniz said the district is hearing suggestions for names for the new school and is interested in hearing from people with stories to tell about Willowcreek so those memories can be preserved.

A parent also spoke up, complimenting the district for how it handled a safety threat on Sept. 9, including quickly alerting parents. She has a student at one of the elementary schools in South Haven and was surprised not to see a police presence the next day.

She wants the same security as other schools in the district. South Haven’s elementary schools are outside the city of Portage.

Alaniz thanked her for her input and assured her that there isn’t a disparity among the district’s elementary schools when it comes to safety.

Portage officers are encouraged to park in a school parking lot when filling out reports while on duty, Alaniz said. Off-duty Portage officers also stop in at the South Haven schools.

When Alaniz and Associate Superintendent Michael Stephens started in those roles, the district had one full-time school resource officer at Portage High School and another to serve both middle schools, she said. That number has expanded, with a full-time officer also rotating among the elementary schools to address issues as needed and to increase police presence there.

In times of heightened security, the sheriff’s department might help beef up school security, School Board President Andy Maletta suggested. Alaniz agreed.

State law requires each district to have at least one trained school safety person, Alaniz said. Portage has close to 30.

Board Vice President Wilma Vazquez thanked the many people, including volunteers who help with concessions and others, for keeping the public safe at ballgames. “We take it for granted,” she said, but there are about 100 people who pitch in.

That includes JROTC students and leaders, too, Alaniz said.

The board also approved an $81,000 state grant to update door safety systems, “just another measure of safety and security for our students and staff,” Alaniz said. The district will chip in $81,000 to match the grant.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.