3 Rivers board adopts $102.35 million 2025–26 budget; moves some student health spending to state Student Investment Account

The 3 Rivers/Josephine County School District board adopted its fiscal year 2025–26 budget at the June 11 meeting, approving a package of fiscal resolutions that included the district’s spending plan (read into the record as an aggregate sum of $102,348,388), a tax levy and a transfer of up to $1,108,606 to the district’s carryover fund.

Finance staff told the board several technical adjustments will appear in the adopted document. Superintendent Dave and business staff explained that two bond-related funds created for a November bond vote (identified in the budget documents as funds 303 and 403) will be dissolved because the bond did not pass. The budget also reflects an internal reallocation: an administrative line item entered in error (fund 200, line 1294) will be moved to lines 1132 and 2120 to correct classification, a change the district said does not alter total appropriations.

Board members and staff also discussed shifting specific student-support expenditures from the general fund to the state Student Investment Account (SIA). "That money also got moved to be paid for out of the student investment account," said Jessica Durant, who presented course statements and answered budget questions. As a result, the general-fund line for “health services” shown in the draft budget decreased to zero because those functions will be funded from the SIA; several support-service lines for attendance and social work were increased to reflect program placement and accounting changes.

The board adopted the fiscal resolutions that declare the tax levy (read in the meeting as $3.72062 per $1,000 of assessed value) and appropriate funds for the coming fiscal year. Trustees also approved a motion to transfer identified general-fund balances into the district’s carryover account — a longstanding internal reserve created in the 1990s intended to encourage responsible multi-year budgeting — not to exceed $1,108,606.

Other administrative approvals tied to the budget included acceptance of minor adjustments recommended by staff and the budget committee, and a supplemental budget entry from the 2024–25 fiscal year that needed to be shown in the 2024–25 adopted document to comply with local budget law.

Board members asked questions about specific program funding. A budget committee member earlier in the meeting had asked that future budget books be made available to committee members earlier than five or six days before meetings to allow more time for review. The superintendent and finance staff said they will work to provide materials earlier next cycle.

Votes at a glance (selected fiscal actions taken June 11): - Adopted FY 2025–26 budget read in the record as $102,348,388 and declared tax levy at $3.72062 per $1,000 — approved by board vote. - Approved transfer of up to $1,108,606 to carryover fund — approved. - Approved dissolution/removal of bond funds 303 and 403 (bond did not pass) — approved. - Approved recommended adjustments and a supplemental budget adjustment for FY 2024–25 — approved.

The district said federal funding continues to pay for universal student meals under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and staff confirmed that free breakfast and lunch are offered to all students without application.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the adopted budget documents and publish them per state requirements. Finance staff will continue technical work to reclassify line items and implement the SIA-funded services. The certified librarian hire and other personnel changes noted in the meeting will be implemented separately from the adopted budget.