Electors at the School District of Fort Atkinson annual meeting approved a $21,613,128 tax levy and the district's preliminary 2025-26 budget after a budget hearing that focused on state funding shortfalls, special-education reimbursement rates and rising private-school voucher costs.

The vote followed a presentation by Nathan Knitt, the district's director of business services, who reviewed the budget the school board approved in July and the assumptions behind it. Knitt said the district's preliminary budget projects $43.8 million in revenue and $43.85 million in expenditures, leaving the district slightly in the red under the preliminary figures. He also told electors that auditors were finalizing the 2024-25 fiscal year and that the district was "estimated to be running a surplus of $853,000."

Knitt walked the meeting through key revenue and expense drivers. He said the new state biennial budget included a $325 per-member increase under the revenue limit but left the district short of the special-education reimbursement levels educators had sought. "Special education reimbursement covers just 28 to 38 percent of actual costs," Treasurer Robin Selley said earlier in the meeting, summarizing statewide data. Knitt said the state reimbursement rate was set at 42 percent for the 2025-26 biennium, below previously discussed targets.

The meeting also underscored the growing cost of private-school vouchers. Knitt said the district now assesses roughly $0.87 per $1,000 of equalized property value to cover voucher obligations and that the district is projecting more than $2 million in voucher payments for the year. "About 10% of the tax levy that the school district levies does not stay here in the district and is instead sent off to voucher-eligible schools," Knitt said.

On the tax levy itself, Knitt presented the numbers the electors were asked to approve. For the 2024-25 fiscal year the district's levy had been $21,434,310, which equated to roughly $9.02 per $1,000 of equalized property value. The 2025-26 preliminary levy of $21,613,128 represents a 0.8 percent dollar increase year over year. Because the district assumed a 3 percent rise in equalized property values, Knitt said the estimated tax-rate impact is a decrease: the preliminary rate is $8.83 per $1,000, a 2.1 percent decline from the prior year. He noted the rate would fall further in future projections when the current operational referendum expires.

Following the hearing, electors adopted a resolution to levy $21,613,128 for 2025-26. The resolution was approved by voice vote at the annual meeting.

Knitt also reviewed the calendar and next steps for finalizing the budget: the district's pupil count will be taken at the third Friday in September (the annual meeting noted Sept. 19), the state finalizes aid and voucher numbers by Oct. 15, the board must certify the levy by Nov. 1, and the business office sends levy notices to municipalities between Nov. 1 and Nov. 10.

Context and implications

Board and administration speakers framed the budget results as the product of local fiscal discipline and continued dependence on voter-approved referenda and local property taxes. Treasurer Robin Selley told the meeting that Wisconsin's per-student state funding has lagged national trends and that the state's special-education reimbursement historically covers only a minority of districts' actual special-education costs; she said efforts to raise reimbursement to higher targets produced only modest gains. Knitt and Selley both emphasized that the district partially covers special-education costs by shifting general-fund resources and, when needed, by asking voters to approve operational referenda.

Knitt and Selley presented several figures electors heard during the hearing: the district's 2024-25 estimated operating surplus of $853,000; the 2025-26 preliminary revenues of about $43.8 million versus estimated expenditures of about $43.85 million; the 2025-26 preliminary levy of $21,613,128; and the projected 2025-26 tax-rate estimate of $8.83 per $1,000 of equalized value, down from $9.02 the prior year. Knitt said the district expects voucher payments to exceed $2 million in 2025-26 and stressed that those levy dollars are remitted to voucher schools rather than retained locally.

What was decided and what remains

- Decision (approved): Electors adopted the district's preliminary 2025-26 tax levy of $21,613,128. (Outcome recorded at the annual meeting; vote by voice, no roll-call tally recorded in the meeting transcript.)
- Decision (approved): The budget presented as the preliminary 2025-26 budget was accepted by the electors. The board will finalize the budget and certify the levy following the state aid and pupil-count timelines.
- Ongoing: Final state aid and voucher numbers will arrive Oct. 15, and the board must certify the levy by Nov. 1; final municipal notices follow between Nov. 1 and Nov. 10.

Quotes (from meeting)

- "We are estimated to be running a surplus of $853,000," Nathan Knitt, Director of Business Services.
- "Special education reimbursement covers just 28 to 38 percent of actual costs," Robin Selley, Treasurer.
- "About 10 percent of the tax levy that the school district levies does not stay here in the district and is instead sent off to voucher-eligible schools," Nathan Knitt, Director of Business Services.

Ending

Board and staff said they will return to the board calendar over the coming months to finalize the levy and budget after the state provides final aid and voucher information. The board and administration emphasized continued focus on staffing and student services while urging the public to note how much of district revenue is constrained by state aid formulas and voucher obligations.