School Briefs: Bottle Drive and Successful Audit

South Lake Band bottle drive June 4
Save those returnable bottles from your Memorial Day get-together. On Saturday, June 4, the South Lake High School Band and Color Guard will be out and about in local neighborhoods collecting returnable bottles and cans.

Residents are asked to leave their returnable bottles in a bag on their front porch by 8:30 a.m. Proceeds from the bottle drive help cover the cost of attending band camp.

Lakeview gets high marks after state audit of grant programs
Representatives from the Michigan Department of Education recently complimented after conducting an audit of the district’s use of state and federal grants, Lakeview officials said.

Department of Education representatives audited grant-funded programs offered by the district and by Harmon Elementary School.

Prior to the auditors’ arrival, Lakeview district and Harmon staff had submitted specific documents for their review.

“When the 0n-site review team came to Lakeview, they met with district and building staff to interview us about how we are utilizing state and federal grant dollars, and how we document those activities,” said Tracy Van Peeren, assistant superintendent for curriculum and technology.

The next day, the auditors shared their findings with district officials.

“They were extremely complimentary of the programs and services we are providing and affirmed that the district is utilizing state and federal grant dollars appropriately. In addition, they cited a few minor items that the district needs to implement to be in full compliance with state and federal requirements,” Van Peeren said. “We plan to implement the identified changes in order to be in full compliance, but are very pleased with the validation we received from MDE regarding the quality of our programs.”