Stevens Point board adopts preliminary 2025-26 budget with levy estimate; plan remains subject to change

The Stevens Point Area Public School District Board of Education on June 9 approved a preliminary 2025-26 budget so the district can pay bills through the summer while waiting for final state and membership figures.

Business Services Director Mike (presenting) told the board that "the preliminary budget is an incomplete budget" and explained officials must estimate several items now because final equalized values and certain state aid figures are not available until the fall. He said the district must adopt a preliminary budget to continue operations and pay invoices through October.

The preliminary all-funds budget lists total expenditures of $148,889,000 and total revenues of $149,199,000 for the district. The general operating fund (Fund 10) shows $115,516,000 in revenue and $113,745,000 in expenditures, producing a preliminary surplus of about $1.7 million. The staff presentation showed an interfund transfer (mostly to special education) that, when removed for comparability, produces a 2.79% increase in total expenditures over the prior year.

Mike said the proposed property tax levy for 2025-26 is $47,144,000, an increase of 9.56% from the prior year, producing a preliminary levy rate of $6.61 per $1,000 of equalized value. He noted the district used a 6% assumption for equalized value because the official figure will not be released until Oct. 1 and that many line items remain estimates.

Board members asked for clarification about specific worksheet items, including an "energy efficiency exemption" connected to previously authorized capital projects. Mike described how the district in an earlier year used an energy-exemption option to finance energy projects that were then partially repaid through state mechanisms.

After the presentation, Mike asked the board to proceed. "I will recommend the adoption of the preliminary 25 and a 6 month as presented," he said. A board member moved and the motion carried; the transcript records "motion carries," but it does not record a detailed roll-call tally in the public minutes.

The board approved the preliminary budget with the understanding it is an interim document: staff and presenters emphasized the numbers will be revised as the district receives final state aid, enrollment counts, and equalized valuation information.

Officials said next steps include refining estimates over the summer and producing a final budget in late October once the state and membership data are finalized. The board will receive updated worksheets and supporting schedules as the figures firm up.

Notes: the district presentation and board discussion identified the levy, end-of-year projections, and the use of interfund transfers to move funding to special education and capital projects; the board did not set final levy rates or adopt a final budget on June 9.