Ferguson‑Florissant finance workshop outlines $5.4 million projected deficit; board and staff plan community budget committee

Ferguson‑Florissant School District officials told the Board of Education at a finance workshop that the district’s adopted 2025–26 budget shows a projected deficit of $5,400,000 and that a comparison limited to operating funds (funds 1 and 2) reflects a projected deficit of roughly $4,800,000.

The presentation, led by new Chief Financial Officer Tony Chance and supported by consultants from MoASBO and the Missouri School Boards’ Association, sketched revenue and expenditure sources, identified recent contributing factors and outlined next steps including a community budget and finance committee and additional public workshops.

The shortfall, Chance said, stems from multiple items: one‑time federal ESSER funding that peaked in fiscal 2022–24 and is now declining, a dip in property tax collection rates since the COVID years, enrollment and attendance declines, higher staffing costs and increases in purchased services when vacancies were filled through agencies. “If you compare the revenues and expenditures of the 20 five‑twenty 6 budget, it shows a projected deficit of $5,400,000,” Chance said.

Why it matters: the district’s operating fund balance percentage — the commonly used measure of how many months of spending the district can cover from reserves — has been squeezed in recent years, and Chance’s slide deck showed salaries and benefits account for about 77.7% of expenditures. The district’s two primary operational funds…