Business Office

We are here to serve students, parents, staff, school board and taxpayers on all school district financial and accounting issues. Our finance professionals are dedicated to managing the business services of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools in a way that contributes to the successful education of all students through sound fiscal management and by providing the best possible educational services with the financial resources available to enhance the learning environment for students.

Our district is committed to transparent and responsible management of our community’s financial resources. 

•  The district has one of the lowest utility costs per square foot at $.80.   The average school district spends over 1.25 per sq/ft.   With over 1.3M sq/ft, this equates to a yearly savings of $585,000.   
• In 2011 the district became self-insured for health insurance. Since that time the district’s average yearly health insurance premium increase has been 2.6%, compared to the national average increase of nearly 7%.   
• The average levy increase for the past 5 years has been 2.65% outside of 2017, in which voters approved a $109M bond referendum and increased operating referendum.

At the same time, PLSAS offers good value. Our educational cost per student is nearly $2,000 less than the average school district in the seven-county metro area, while still being able to offer innovative programs and personalized learning.

All of these practices have been noticed by the larger financial community. For several years, our Business Office has received the Minnesota Department of Education School Finance Award for exhibiting fiscal health, sound fiscal management and accountability. For the ninth year in a row, our district has also received the Association of School Business Officials International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting Award.

In addition, since 2017 PLSAS has maintained an Aa2 bond (credit) rating, which is higher than the average rating for schools of Aa3. This rating means the district meets its financial commitments and taxpayers can expect to receive better interest rates on district bond refinancing and any new bond issues.