CCSD 21 board adopts FY26 budget showing modest revenue growth and rising benefits costs

The CCSD 21 Board of Education adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget after a public hearing on Sept. 18, approving a spending plan the district said increases revenues 3.1% while expenses rise faster, driven by benefits, construction and other non-salary costs.

In a public presentation, Mike Zager, the district's director of finance, said the formal budget must be adopted by Sept. 30 and that the district will post it to the State Board of Education site. "The formal budget is required to be adopted by September 30," Zager said during the hearing.

Zager told the board the budget assumes a 3.1% increase in total revenues and a 6.6% increase in expenses overall. Major revenue changes include a projected 5.3% increase in property tax receipts (partly from new property and a TIF distribution that came onto the district rolls last year) and a 2.9% rise in Evidence-Based Funding state aid. He also said the district expects interest revenue to decline and noted a one-time federal HRSA grant of roughly $1 million from the prior year that will not recur.

On the expense side, Zager said total purchased services rose 17.6% because of expected construction and related summer-project costs, and capital expenditures were budgeted up 27.3% to account for planned land and early-childhood center spending. Salaries and benefits, the district's largest cost, were projected to increase 5.2% overall; Zager highlighted a 12.8% jump in benefits costs driven by a projected 10.9% rise in health insurance rates and an 8.3% increase in dental costs beginning Jan. 1.

Zager said the child nutrition program shows increased revenue (13.3%) that largely offsets a higher food-service contract, and he noted that some federal grant categories appear lower in the initial allocations but that carryover and later allocations often arrive in November or December.

During the board vote to approve the budget "as presented," board members recorded the following votes on the record: Jessica (yes), Debbie (yes), Ileana (yes) and Arlen (aye). The motion carried and board members signed the required approval documents following the meeting.

Board members and staff said the district remains within its fund-balance policy range: under the adopted budget the operating fund balance would be about 42.2% of expenses. Trustees asked staff to return periodic updates on insurance costs and other areas that could affect future budgets.

The budget presentation and adoption were part of a required public hearing and follow established school-code timelines for adoption and public posting.