Danville District 118 board adopts 2025-26 budget after brief public hearing; members flag financial warning

The Danville School District 118 Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the district’s 2025-26 budget after a public hearing Tuesday evening that drew no public comments. The board approved the plan by a 7-0 roll call vote and closed the hearing before the vote.

At the public hearing, Miss Pabst, serving as assistant superintendent and business director, opened discussion by stating, “We will now open the public hearing regarding the Danville School District 2018 budget for 2526. Any questions or comments?” When none were offered she said she declared the hearing closed and moved to the budget approval action.

The vote came after a board member summarized the district’s recent financial measurements and cautioned about the plan’s limits. “We are graded by the state and we have a profile score that is 2.65, and that puts us at a financial warning,” the board member said. The member said that the score is driven largely by two metrics: an expenditures-to-revenue ratio and days of cash on hand. “We spent $1.18 for every dollar that we brought in. So that gives us an 18 percent deficit,” the member said, and added that the district was at “76 days” of cash on hand under the state calculation.

The same board member contrasted the current score with the district’s prior standing: “The data from a year ago ... we were at a 3.45,” the member said, noting that 3.45 put the district in a higher category described in board comments as financial review. The speaker said the district’s contingency approach had changed: “Our contingency line ... is generally upwards higher than 1,500,000.0. Well, we don't have a contingency line in this budget.”

Another board member expressed reservations about the budget’s realism while voting in favor. “Last year, we planned for a $4,500,000 deficit. And you all know it was higher than 17,000,000,” the member said. “This is not a great plan ... I will not vote no because I don't believe that's fair. We've done too much work as a board, and it wouldn't be fair for me to be the sole no vote.”

The board recorded the motion and second for approval during the meeting and completed a roll-call vote later in the session. The roll call as recorded in the meeting transcript registered seven affirmative votes and no negatives or abstentions; the meeting transcript reports “Motion carries 7 0.”

Board members said they have held study sessions on the district finances and pledged transparency. The meeting record shows the board noted the budget item was the primary business that required reporting by Oct. 1 to the state. There were no substantive public comments during the hearing.

The board also voted earlier in the meeting to reschedule the Oct. 8 regular meeting to Oct. 1. The district offered several informational items after the budget vote, including expressions of condolences for a recently deceased staff member and brief athletic announcements.

The budget document presented at the hearing and the board’s statements in the meeting provide the following numerical details discussed by board members: a state profile score of 2.65 (characterized by the board as a financial warning), an expenditures-to-revenue ratio indicating the district spent $1.18 for every $1 received (an 18% gap), 76 days of cash on hand, a planned deficit line in the budget of approximately $4.64 million (board discussion referenced a planned $4,500,000 deficit in prior conversations), and a prior-year actual deficit the board said exceeded $17 million. The meeting transcript indicates the district believes it has cash on hand sufficient to cover the current planned deficit but that board members expect continued work to refine the plan and restore fiscal standing.