Lincoln County School District No. 2 trustees approved the district's 2025'26 budget following a financial briefing during which business manager Dana Inskeep outlined audited figures, capital set‑asides and areas of program spending.

Inskeep told the board the district had set aside about $1,960,000 for capital construction projects and discussed how salaries and benefits are budgeted by employee, and how program totals roll up from hundreds of general‑ledger lines. "Affton Elementary was just over $2,000,000. That is the cost of staffing at that location," Inskeep said, describing how the district can trace school staffing costs back to personnel and benefit line items.

The presentation covered the audit process and differences between the preliminary budget and the audited results. Inskeep said bus purchases and related transportation costs contributed to a notable change in the audited numbers, and he described roughly an $1.8 million increase in busing costs related to fleet purchases recorded in the audit. He also told trustees the previous audit showed roughly $14 million in fund balances and that about $3,000,000 is tied to major maintenance and must remain in that program.

Trustees asked for more granular reporting. Chairman Simpson and other board members asked Inskeep to schedule a fall work session in which the board would pick individual schools and Inskeep would demonstrate drilling from summary reports into employee‑level general‑ledger detail. Inskeep agreed, saying he could show the board how to trace program totals back to individual employee IDs and benefit lines.

Inskeep also noted state reporting requirements and the forms that generate revenue calculations. "The state says we want from you is called the 600, the 103401 and 901," he said, referring to the reports that produce per‑pupil revenue figures. When asked about average daily membership (ADM) and the per‑student revenue figure, Inskeep said he had the exact number from Mrs. Gardner and would send it to the superintendent.

After the discussion the board voted to approve the 2025–26 budget. Motion by Mr. Johnson, second by Mr. Call. "All in favor? Aye." The motion carried.

The trustees directed staff to prepare the requested school‑level drilldown and to produce a one‑page listing of district fund and reserve balances before the work session so board members can review where savings and reserves are held.