The Lincoln‑Way Special Education cooperative known as District 843 presented and the board approved District 843’s fiscal year 2026 budget as part of the Aug. 18 meeting.

Dana Berthold (board member) said the cooperative is seeing notable increases in salaries, benefits and contract services and that the cooperative must continue to examine programming and transportation to manage rising costs. “Some of the costs were necessary,” Berthold said, describing steps taken to bring contracted staff on to the cooperative payroll to improve hiring and retention.

Administrators said several factors are affecting cooperative costs: higher utility and contract‑service costs; adjustments to salary and benefit levels to recruit qualified staff; and transportation‑lease increases that made prior leasing arrangements more expensive. State reimbursement for services provided in certain public facilities (referred to in the materials as S Fund or Est Fund reimbursement) had not been finalized at the time of the meeting, so administrators said the cooperative had not yet incorporated those numbers into the budget. The presenter noted Pioneer Grove has been approved as a site for reimbursement and that once the state releases the reimbursement percentage, that revenue could reduce cooperative costs.

Board members discussed enrollment and program structure. Administrators reported Pioneer Grove enrollment around 22–24 students at the time of the meeting and noted the cooperative is the only standalone high‑school district in the cooperative; some junior‑high programming is shared across participating districts. Officials said they will continue to evaluate whether hosting additional programs in district facilities would make long‑term fiscal sense.

The board approved District 843’s budget by unanimous vote. Administration said it will continue to monitor transportation leasing markets, contractual staffing costs and pending state reimbursement figures and will report back as details are finalized.