School board adopts FY26 budget as superintendent warns of widening gap between revenues and expenses

The Dunlap Community Unit School District board voted to adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget at its Aug. 27 meeting, approving a deficit plan Superintendent Dr. Dearman described as "the smallest budget deficit in the last five years" while warning that ongoing expense growth risks outpacing revenues. Dr. Dearman told the board the district has run roughly $1 million annual deficits in recent years and urged members to plan now to avoid a future fiscal crisis. "We need to get out in front of this," he said during a detailed financial presentation that reviewed reserves, revenue drivers and projected capital needs. The presentation said the district's funding is heavily dependent on property taxes and the state's evidence-based funding model, and that while the district has benefited from recent EBF increases and one-time…