Fort Atkinson board to present proposed 2025-26 budget at annual meeting after state, federal changes

The School District of Fort Atkinson board voted July 17 to present the proposed 2025-26 budget at the district annual meeting on Aug. 21 after staff outlined how changes in the recent state biennial budget and a federal funding freeze affect next year’s finances.

The board will ask electors to approve a levy to fund the proposed $43,828,679 in revenues and $43,851,483 in projected expenditures, a preliminary deficit of $22,804, the district’s director of business services told the board.

Director of Business Services Nathan Knitt told the board the state budget signed July 3 carries several changes that materially affect district revenue assumptions, including a $325 revenue-limit increase per pupil and a higher special-education reimbursement rate the state has described as “up to 42%” for 2025-26 and “up to 45%” in 2026-27. Knitt said the district used more conservative assumptions (about 39% for 2025-26 and 41% for 2026-27) in its preliminary numbers because the state’s final allocation methodology remains subject to change.

Knitt also explained that open-enrollment and voucher per-pupil payment amounts rose in the state budget; he said the regular education open-enrollment payment will be $10,102 for 2025-26 and that voucher payments vary by grade and special-education status (examples provided included roughly $10,877 for K–8 voucher-eligible pupils and $13,371 for grades 9–12). Those increases affect revenue when students open-enroll in or out of the district and when voucher-eligible students attend private schools.

At the same time, Knitt said the U.S. Department of Education froze several federal formula allocations on July 9. The district no longer expects Title II-A ($60,408), Title III-A ($16,758) and Title IV-A ($21,557) revenues for 2025-26; Titles I-A and IDEA (special education) remain expected and together total about $900,000. Knitt told the board those federal revenues had already been budgeted for and that the district committed expenses tied to those grants before the freeze was announced.

Knitt summarized the net effect as an improved state funding position partly offset by the federal freeze: compared with June projections, the district’s preliminary deficit narrowed from just over $500,000 in the red to about $22,804 in the red because of increased special-education funding, but the frozen federal grants reduced that positive swing by roughly $100,000.

Board members asked multiple questions about how the revenue-limit change and special-education reimbursement work, and about longer-term trends. Knitt said Fort Atkinson’s revenue-limit “per member” ceiling for 2025-26 would be $12,626 under the state calculation used for the district and that many districts contend the revenue limit has not kept pace with inflation for years. Knitt and board members referenced advocacy priorities that had sought a far higher special-education reimbursement (60% on a “sufficient” basis) than the enacted change.

The board approved a motion to present the proposed 2025-26 budget and submit a levy to electors at the annual meeting on Aug. 21. The roll-call vote recorded in the meeting packet was unanimous in favor.

Looking ahead, Knitt told the board the district will track final state aid and voucher numbers this fall, certify pupil counts and finalize the tax levy and that the current operational referendum is nonrecurring and will expire in later years, affecting longer-range projections.

The board’s vote sends the proposed budget and levy to the public for a decision at the August annual meeting.