School board adopts final 2025–26 budget after public hearing with no speakers

The school board voted to adopt Resolution 856081325, approving the district's final budget for the 2025'326 school year after a public hearing at which no members of the public spoke. Board President moved adoption and a board member seconded; the motion passed on a voice vote.

The budget matters because it sets operating authority for the coming school year and reflects lingering uncertainties in federal and state funding that the district said could affect programs and capital planning. Alfonso Milton, executive director of business services, presented a summarized version of the budget materials previously shown in July and answered board questions.

Milton said the district expects to begin the year with a fund balance slightly above 10% of annual expenditures, placing the district at the lower end of the board's preferred range. "Projected ending fund balance for 24'5 or beginning fund balance for 25'6, right around a little over 10% of our expenditures," Milton said. He described the budget bars on the packet charts and noted the district's green (preferred), yellow (caution) and red (out of compliance) bands for fund-balance planning.

On the general fund, Milton presented total revenues of about $104.5 million and total expenditures of just under $107 million. He said federal funds in the budget total about $5.8 million, but roughly $1.5 million of that is contingency, leaving "about 4 and a half million-ish" as actual federal dollars; he added that federal funding rules had briefly been frozen but were, to the district's knowledge, restored for 2025'6. Milton cautioned that the 2026'7 federal picture remained uncertain.

Milton also presented the district's MSOC (Materials, Supplies and Operating Costs) disclosure: MSOC state revenue of about $8.2 million versus MSOC-coded expenditures of roughly $10.4 million, plus additional MSOC-like expenditures charged to levy dollars of about $2.1 million. "We have to kind of disclose or state that we spend more on our MSOCs than we receive," Milton said.

On capital and other funds, Milton said the capital projects fund shows about $8.5 million in anticipated expenditures with contingencies set aside for building compliance work; the debt service fund will spend just over $5 million and the district's current bonds are slated to be fully paid off in December 2027. The associated student body fund is budgeted at about $1.6 million for student activities. The transportation vehicle fund shows $2 million in budgeted expenditures (a historical practice to budget the full fund balance even if fewer buses will be purchased).

Milton said a four-year budget and enrollment forecast projects stable enrollment and consistent revenue and fund balance for the near term, while noting placeholders in the debt-service and capital-projects lines pending decisions on future bond or levy renewals.

During the budget presentation Milton also recognized staff changes in the business office. He thanked April Stegman, Tracy Lee and Karen Hernandez, who are retiring at the end of the month, and "welcomed Jeffrey J.R. Murphy to the business office," saying Murphy will take April's position and has been on the job roughly a week.

The board recessed to the public-hearing portion of the meeting to receive comments on the budget; Milton and board members confirmed there were no written comments and no one signed up to speak. After returning to open session, Board President moved to adopt the resolution. "I will move that we adopt Resolution 856081325, a resolution for the approval of the final budget for the 2025'26 school year," the Board President said. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.

The adoption gives the district the authority to operate under the stated revenues, contingencies and fund allocations for 2025'6. Board materials noted continued monitoring of federal funds and pending decisions on bond and levy renewals; no additional formal directions or assignments were recorded at the meeting.

Looking ahead, Milton and staff said the district will continue monitoring federal and state funding developments and discuss bond and levy options in upcoming work sessions and meetings.