The Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education held a public hearing and adopted the district’s FY2026 budget on Sept. 25 after hearing no public comment, and also approved the consent agenda and a change in minutes practice recommended by an external best‑practices reviewer.

Why it matters: The annual budget sets the district’s operating and capital spending priorities and determines the district’s ending fund balance target. The board’s consent approvals cleared personnel actions, policies, insurance renewals and routine financial resolutions.

Public hearing and budget: District staff reported the FY2026 final budget was placed on public display for 30 days and noticed on the district website and in the Chicago Tribune. Administrators said the district’s projected ending fund balance improved from an earlier projection of about 31.9% to just over 33% following updated revenue estimates and payroll true‑up adjustments. No attendees spoke during the hearing; the board then closed the public hearing and voted to adopt the FY2026 budget.

Consent agenda and minutes practice: The board approved routine consent items including personnel recommendations, policy second readings, insurance renewals and financial resolutions. A board member pulled the open and closed session minutes for a short discussion: the district recently moved to summarized minutes that omit verbatim attribution of statements, based on a recommendation from an outside minutes‑practice advisor (PressPlus). Staff said the change was adopted as best practice and aligns minutes with available public recordings.

Taping and records: The board approved the destruction of an older audio tape from November 2023 as part of records maintenance and approved standard lists of authorized depositories and check disbursement resolutions as read on the consent agenda.

Votes and next steps: The budget, consent items and minutes actions passed by roll call. Administrators said they would post adopted budget documents and financial resolutions to the district’s public records and incorporate board feedback into future budget communications.