District finance director says state budget raises special-education reimbursements but cuts general aid by $1.8 million

District finance staff briefed the Board of Education on July 14 about how Wisconsin's recently passed state budget will affect the School District of Superior. Staff said the budget increases special-education (SPED) reimbursement rates in a way that will bring about $1 million in additional reimbursement to the district, moving the district's SPED reimbursement to roughly 40 percent. At the same time, staff said the district faces an estimated $1.8 million reduction in general state aid for Fiscal Year 2026. "What that means is the state's gonna give us $1,800,000 less," a staff member said in the meeting, explaining that the shortfall will likely be made up by local property taxpayers. Finance staff told the board the net effects of other budget changes will increase pressure on the district's levy and could produce a tax levy increase in the neighborhood of 8 percent for the district. Other changes staff summarized included a $325 increase in the state per-pupil revenue limit, reclassification of a $700,000 personal-property tax exemption into the revenue limit (reducing outside-the-limit funding), and an increase of about $1,500 in the open-enrollment payment the district must pay when a student enrolls elsewhere. Staff estimated the open-enrollment increase will cost the district roughly $200,000 next year. The district's preliminary year-end numbers also include large transfers that staff said will appear in audited results: a fund 27 special-education transfer staff estimated at about $7,000,000 and transfers to fund 46 (capital improvements) and to fund 73 (post-employment benefits/ OPEB). Staff said an external audit is scheduled to begin near the first day of the school year and that final audited figures will be posted after that work. Board members and staff discussed the district's fund balance and the possibility of using reserves in a difficult year; staff said any transfers into restricted funds (such as fund 73 OPEB or fund 46 capital improvements) are effectively committed and cannot easily be repurposed. District leaders also said they plan to publish a document showing federal reductions and how referendum revenue and other funds were used, to explain local impacts. Staff recommended continued multi-year budget planning and said the board may face hard choices in coming years about whether to use fund-balance reserves to smooth temporary budget gaps.