Hudson board approves preliminary 2025-26 budget as residents urge pause on elementary closures

The Hudson School District Board of Education on the evening of its August meeting approved a preliminary 2025-26 budget and heard extensive public comment urging the district not to close Holton and Willow River elementary schools.

Board members approved the budget as presented after a staff presentation on the assumptions underpinning next year’s plan. District presenters said the board will receive a final aid calculation on Oct. 15 and expects to return to the board for final budget approval in early November.

The preliminary budget keeps the district’s estimated mill rate level at 8.21, presents an estimated $842,000 in general operating staffing reductions for 2025-26 and notes more than $2.7 million in position reductions over the past three years. District presenters said the state increased the revenue limit calculation by $325 per pupil, left state per-pupil aid at $742 per pupil, and estimated special education categorical…