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State budget leaves general aid flat; district staff warn levy pressure while special‑ed aid rises
Summary
Business services staff told the board the district's August budget revision reflects new grant awards and warned that the recent state budget raises per‑pupil revenue authority but left equalized aid flat, a change that may increase local levy pressure.
Mike, presenting for business services, told the board the district's August notice of change to the adopted 2024‑25 budget adjusts revenues and expenditures to reflect awards of grants the district did not know at the time of the October budget adoption; the changes totaled $385,197 in the general fund and net to zero because matching expenses were added.
On the state biannual budget, Mike summarized the major changes affecting the district. The legislature raised revenue‑limit authority by $325 per pupil but did not increase the state's general equalized aid pool. "We did get a $325 per pupil adjustment in our revenue limit... but what we were not expecting is no change in general equalized aid," he said, explaining that historically equalized aid has often increased with revenue‑limit changes and that a flat appropriation can shift costs to local levies. He and the business office projected a tax levy of roughly $6.97 per $1,000 of equalized value under current assumptions, slightly above prior projections and with a risk of exceeding $7. Mike said the district's final equalized aid figures are estimated July 1 but not finalized until Oct. 15 and that the September third‑Friday enrollment count feeds that calculation.
Mike also described increases in special‑education funding in the state budget: categorical special‑education aid was set to increase (characterized in the presentation as a 42% state appropriation target in fiscal 2026 and 45% in 2027 under the budget language), and high‑cost special‑education aid received new biennial funding; he estimated the district could see roughly $1.7–1.9 million in additional special‑education categorical funds next year and $140,000–$225,000 for high‑cost aid, subject to final appropriation and district eligibility. Mike clarified that some programs are "sum‑certain" appropriations and that actual payments depend on state calculations and prior‑year billing.
He finished by noting open‑enrollment transfer amounts (the transfer payments districts pay when students leave) are scheduled to increase under the new budget and estimated the district's net cost from open enrollment at about $277,000 next year. The board voted to approve the August budget revision (two‑thirds approval required for the notice of change) without further change.
