Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent outlines $169 million preliminary budget, warns against overusing reserves
Summary
Superintendent Doctor Brown presented a proposed $169 million 2025–26 budget that he described as a “rollover” to maintain current programs while reducing reliance on fund balances; projected tax levy roughly $115 million and estimated tax rate about $15.20 per $1,000 assessed value.
Superintendent Doctor Brown and the district finance team on March 25 presented the administration’s recommended preliminary 2025–26 budget and framed the district’s fiscal choices ahead of the May vote.
Doctor Brown described the $169 million budget as a ‘‘rollover’’ plan intended to maintain existing programs while reducing the district’s reliance on reserves and fund balances. “We are using our savings account to fund operational increases,” he said, adding that heavy reliance on reserves is “a dangerous place to be” because recurring compensation increases require recurring revenue.
The presentation included three headline figures: a proposed total budget of roughly $169,000,000; a tax levy in the neighborhood of $115,000,000; and an initial projected tax rate of about $15.20 per $1,000 of assessed value (the administration noted the rate typically shifts slightly before final numbers are set). The administration projected an overall year‑to‑year budget increase of about 3.69%.
Doctor Brown and CFO staff described fund‑balance planning as central to the proposal. The administration said it plans to use approximately $6.79 million of fund balance toward the budget, down from larger draws in prior years, while also taking steps to replenish or reallocate reserves such as the health‑insurance reserve and other recommended reserve accounts.
Board members asked for line‑by‑line detail and contingency scenarios. Several members said they want a contingency budget to understand what would happen if the budget is voted down; members asked for a one‑page tax‑impact calculator for households and for the seven‑page function‑code document that breaks the proposal down in more detail. The administration said those documents are now posted in board materials and will be discussed further at the finance committee and upcoming board meetings.
Doctor Brown said the district has settled contracts with most bargaining units (education support personnel and other units were noted), and described the budget as aggressive on compensation given constraints imposed by the tax‑levy cap and state funding formula. He reiterated the district’s multi‑year strategic goal to stabilize compensation, reduce dependence on reserves and maintain program offerings.
The board scheduled further budget deliberations, with the budget hearing and final vote to follow the district’s published timeline. No formal budget adoption occurred at this meeting.
