Fond du Lac board holds budget workshop, eyes referendum planning after state increases special-education aid

The Fond du Lac School District Board of Education approved routine business and then met in a workshop to review 2025–26 budget assumptions and begin planning for a possible operational referendum following changes in the state biennial budget.

District staff told the board the July state budget preserved the $325 per-pupil revenue limit increase but did not raise general equalization aid. The budget did, however, increase state special education reimbursement from levels used in the district’s June budget: staff noted a legislative change that raises categorical special-education aid to a projected 42% of eligible costs in fiscal 2026 and 45% in fiscal 2027, and separately increases the high-cost special-education reimbursement percentage (details of the high-cost aid calculation remain subject to actual claims statewide).

The budgeting presentation, led by district staff, emphasized three main forces shaping the 2025–26 financial picture: uncertain fall enrollment, the finalized state biennium budget and the district’s prior reductions to reach a balanced plan. Staff said the district’s enrollment forecast used a 5‑year cohort model and projected about 6,404 students for the fall; the district’s July 31 live count was 6,268 students. That gap, staff warned, could materially affect revenue because enrollment drives membership calculations used in the revenue‑limit formula.

“Enrollment drives revenue. Money follows students in the state of Wisconsin,” a staff presenter said, explaining why a lower September membership could reduce available district dollars. Staff also told the board the district would…