Finance committee reviews FY26 adopted budget, warns of roughly $75 million FY27 shortfall

At a Sept. 25 meeting of the municipal board finance committee, Kelly Lessons, board member and chair of the finance committee, asked the district’s finance staff to summarize the adopted FY26 budget and prospects for FY27. Mr. Ratliff, the district’s chief financial officer, said the legislature’s actions produced “a $700 BSA increase for FY26” and that when one-time funds are considered the net change was minimal. He told the committee the district has incorporated a $48 per-student transportation increase into the adopted budget and has reallocated some capital-project upper-limit authority to cover non-bond projects. The update outlined cuts and add‑backs made during FY26. Ratliff said the district cut 136 permanent and contracted positions overall, including about 87 school‑based FTE and 31 administrative FTE; he said many holdback positions were allocated back to schools and that…