West Bend School District proposes balanced 2025-26 budget; mill rate projected to hold at $6.14

Assistant Superintendent Lenny Hanson told residents at a public budget hearing that the West Bend School District is proposing a balanced 2025-26 general fund budget and expects the district's mill rate to remain flat at $6.14.

"Wisconsin statute requires every school district to prepare a proposed budget, hold a public hearing, and adopt a budget," Hanson said as he opened the hearing and summarized the district's financial outlook. He said final state figures will be available by Oct. 15 and could change some estimates included in the proposal.

Hanson said the district's fund balance is in a healthy position, with preliminary indicators showing the general fund balance will be just over 17% and within the board's target range. He described three primary components driving the budget: revenues (chiefly property taxes and state equalization aid), expenditures (led by staffing and benefits), and the tax levy, which determines how much cost is shifted to local property owners.

The presentation highlighted that state and local factors are constraining revenue growth. Hanson said federal pandemic-era grants have largely expired and that federal revenue to the district has declined, noting the district managed 31 grant programs last year and that some grants provide more than $1,000,000 annually (examples Hanson cited included the federal special education flow-through grant and the federal Head Start grant), while Title I provides more than $500,000.

Hanson emphasized long-running special education reimbursement shortfalls from the state. "Last year, the shortfall was more than $9,000,000, which was transferred from the resources allocated from the general education fund allocation," Hanson said, and he said the district expects to transfer more than $8,000,000 again this year to cover underfunded special education costs despite a modest increase in the state's biennial budget.

On debt and capital investment, Hanson reviewed the district's recent referendum and financing. He said the community approved a $106,250,000 referendum last November; the district sold $80,000,000 in bonds in April to fund those construction projects and secured a 4.42% interest rate after an upgrade from Standard & Poor's. Hanson said state law caps a district's debt capacity at 10% of property value and that West Bend remains well below that limit.

Hanson also discussed property-value growth across the district's nine municipalities and explained how varying growth rates affect individual tax bills even when the mill rate is unchanged. He noted the district's projected total property value is expected to rise from just over $8,000,000,000 to about $8,700,000,000 (a 9.3% increase) in the current estimates, which will be finalized by Oct. 15.

Other figures Hanson cited included a planned $1,950,000 in annual capital maintenance projects (in addition to referendum construction) and ongoing planning for post-employment benefits (with an actuarial study conducted annually). Hanson said the assumptions and estimates he reviewed were current as of Sept. 5, 2025, when the proposal was finalized for presentation to the school board.

Hanson closed by reminding residents that the hearing was informational and that the school board will adopt a final budget and certify the tax levy in October after receiving final state figures. He then turned the microphone back to the meeting facilitator to open the floor for public comment and adjourn to the electors' annual meeting.