The district’s Local Option Budget, which supplies money for the district’s day-to-day activities, was increased from 30 percent to 31 percent starting this year.

This change comes after voters approved the adjustment in April to prevent the district from losing $3 million when a decrease in student growth caused the district to lose funding.

This made the district eligible for Cost of Living funding, which is available to districts in high-cost areas, such as Johnson County. This funding helps offset the loss, causing the district to operate at a loss of just $85,000.

To balance this, each department in the district has been asked to decrease expenses by 10 percent, director of finance Ken Larsen said.

“This strategic move is helping the district offset the reduction in operating dollars,” Larsen said via email. “Individual departments and schools continue to scrutinize all expenses in an effort to stretch and maximize resources.”

Larsen said that the district’s greatest attempt to reduce expenses in the district is through conservation of energy. In 2012, the district entered into an agreement with Cenergistic, a company that aids schools and other corporations in energy conservation, and hired energy specialist Dwight Stoppel to monitor the district’s energy usage.

“Together with Cenergistic, USD 232 has built a customized and sustainable energy conservation program that reduces consumption of electricity, natural gas and water through changes in organizational and human behavior,” Larsen said. “Our effort will continue into the future because taxpayers, faculty, parents and students deserve to see every dollar possible sent to the classroom.”