During their meeting on Monday, August 7th, the Board of Trustees formally approved the 2023-2024 Westlake Academy budget. The long process, which spanned several months and required numerous legal steps, was unanimously approved following opportunities for citizens, parents, and the Council/Board to provide feedback along the way. We’re excited to announce that not only do we have a balanced budget, but we’ve also added several much-needed resources that will aid in the success of our students and staff. Here’s how it happened.
The final budget of $11,136,119 was achieved by maximizing state-controlled revenues, contributions from the Westlake Academy Foundation of $1.25 million, and the shared services contribution provided by the Town of Westlake of $6.1 million. While the budget increased by $1,247,382 from the 2023 fiscal year, that increase helped pay for 11.5 new positions, which include more teachers, a middle school assistant principal, several paraprofessionals, additional coordinators, an assistant registrar, a speech and language pathologist, and a nurse. These new positions were regarded by our Board and leadership team as critical roles for the continued growth of our students.
A pay raise for staff was also included, as well as select stipends, all to help retain and recruit top talent and to achieve a more even pay structure with many of our area ISDs. In some cases, the new raises exceed what local districts are paying.
The primary goal of this budget was to emphasize improving the quality of education for our students by supplying additional staff with more resources and competitive pay. We would like to thank the Board and our staff for achieving this goal through many hours of steadfast and diligent work.