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Board approves preliminary 2025-26 budget; special education funding shortfall remains
Summary
Trustees approved a preliminary budget to start the 2025-26 fiscal year and finalized 2024-25 amendments. The board and administrators flagged ongoing funding pressures in special education and the need to build long-term capital reserves.
The Burlington Area School District board approved a preliminary budget for 2025-26 and voted to adopt year-end budget amendments for 2024-25.
Ruth (business services director) presented the amendments required to balance 2024-25; revenue adjustments included higher interest earnings, grant adjustments and open-enrollment changes, while expenditures rose in areas such as special education and unplanned leaves. Ruth said the district closed a projected deficit and balanced the year-end budget.
For 2025-26 the board approved a preliminary budget that includes revenues and expenses tied to the three-year operating referendum. The district added estimated increases for staff costs, a 10% health-insurance allowance and other expense pressures; the package projects a surplus in 2025-26 that offsets prior-year deficits when considered over the three-year referendum horizon.
Board members and administrators repeatedly raised special education funding as a long-term budget pressure. Ruth noted the district budgeted state special-education aid at 30% for planning; she said finalized state numbers for the 2024-25 year came in at 30.64% after the meeting, which still leaves the district covering a significant portion of special-education costs. Superintendent Dr. Jill Oelslager and board members urged continued advocacy for higher state special-education reimbursements.
Administrators also discussed the district’s Fund 46 (long-term capital improvements), a vehicle to set aside district dollars over multiple years for larger projects. Jess Warren and other staff said Fund 46 currently holds roughly $100,000 but that larger needs identified in the forthcoming McKinstry facilities assessment may require more substantial reserves.
The board authorized publication of the 2024-25 amendments in the required format and approved the 2025-26 preliminary budget so the district can open the fiscal year on July 1. The board will set the original budget and final levy in October after pupil counts and state equalization figures are released.
