Board adopts FY2025-26 budget after debate over benefits, taxes and reserves

The Board of Education of District 428 adopted the fiscal year 2025–26 budget as presented after a roll-call vote that concluded 6–1. The board held extended discussion on health benefit renewals, state funding changes and the district's fund balance before voting to adopt the budget required for the coming year.

Board members and district finance staff described the adopted document as a one-year financial plan based on current estimates and accounting rules. A district staff member summarized that the budget records revenue and expenses on a modified-accrual basis and must be adopted by the board so it can be made available for public inspection and filed with county and state authorities.

The budget discussion centered on several revenue and expenditure items: the evidence-based funding (EBF) formula from the state, a larger-than-expected Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) estimate, uncertainty over federal grant renewals, and a substantial health-benefits renewal. Staff said the district's EBF tier moved to Tier 3, producing only about $137,000 more than last year rather than the larger boosts the district had seen in prior years. Staff also told the board that the state froze the property tax relief grant for FY26 while it reconsiders the grant formula.

Finance staff reported a surprise CPPRT estimate from the state that raised projected CPPRT revenue by roughly 30 percent and added about $5.84 million to the revenue side of the ledger. On federal grants, staff said some programs that had been frozen were now being paid, producing about $370,000, but warned that the federal funding outlook remains uncertain.

Board members and staff discussed the district's benefits renewal with health carriers. A consultant told the board the carriers had started with a proposed increase above 50 percent, and the district subsequently reached a final renewal figure that will affect payroll beginning Jan. 1. Staff said the benefit renewal impact is included in the budget and that benefit open-enrollment activity in November could shift individual employees between plans.

On reserves, staff said the district's fund balance equals roughly 72 percent of annual expenditures, which the presenter described as sufficient to cover operations for about eight months in a scenario in which state and local revenues were curtailed. Staff and several board members also said cabinet-level reductions made earlier the same day removed roughly $1.6 million from proposed spending to produce the current projected surplus.

Concerns about transparency and priorities were raised by multiple board members, who asked for clearer visibility into large individual requests and the "chart of accounts" behind summary budget lines. Staff replied that building- and department-level staffing and summer-project requests are reviewed in the spring cycle and that administrators prioritized cuts that would not affect student services when preparing the revised budget.

After discussion, the board adopted the budget. Roll-call votes recorded in the meeting transcript were: Nancy Bynum, yes; Kristen Bailey, yes; Nick Edlund, yes; Steve Byers, yes; Jose Jaquez, yes; Christopher Boyce, yes; Mark Sherbutt, no. The board directed staff to submit the adopted budget to the county and state by required deadlines and to continue monitoring federal and state funding developments.

The board's adoption begins the fiscal-year planning cycle that staff said will be refined as final tax-extension figures, appeals, and benefit open-enrollment results are received in the months ahead.