Fond du Lac board approves 2025–26 preliminary budget after debate over public engagement

The Fond du Lac School District Board of Education voted 6–1 to approve the preliminary 2025–26 budget, which shows total revenue of $130,990,801 and total expenditures of $132,081,501, after more than an hour of public comment and board discussion about community engagement and program impacts.

Why this matters: The preliminary budget authorizes district administrators to spend funds necessary for operations—chiefly payroll—over the summer. Board approval gives administrators authority to meet obligations while the district finalizes enrollment and state funding figures before the fall finalization deadline.

Board President and members opened the meeting to public comment before the vote. Tiffany Brout, a parent, urged the board to “delay action tonight on the preliminary school district budget. There needs to be more time for actual public engagement with the budget process,” saying many community members do not understand how the preliminary budget and recent referendum results translate into program and staffing changes. Student speakers from Sabish Middle School also raised concerns about schedule changes and course availability that they said relate to budget-driven staffing decisions.

Superintendent Matt Steinbarth and district staff described the procedural reasons for seeking preliminary approval now. Staff member Mike Gerlach explained, “The preliminary budget is not the final budget. It is finalized at your last meeting in October no later than November 1. … Your action tonight is so that we, as administrators of the district, have authority to spend funds. Primarily, as you heard at the last meeting, that's payroll related.” Gerlach and other administrators said approving a preliminary budget gives the district the ability to pay employees through the summer while enrollment and state funding figures are finalized.

Board members pressed staff for additional detail about what programs and positions could be affected by the preliminary numbers. One board member said, “What I need … is to know that if I vote tonight in favor of this, what am I voting against? What programs am I voting that are going to be dissolved or scaled back?” District leaders said program-level decisions are still fluid and that the preliminary budget provides a baseline that will be adjusted as new information arrives.

A motion to approve the preliminary budget passed on a roll call vote: Laverance, Maine, Pannell, Frame, Henschel and Motor voted yes; Oliver voted no. The board and administration emphasized that the preliminary budget can be revised before the final adoption later in the year and encouraged community members with questions to use the district’s open-door process and the district’s posted budget workshop materials.

The board scheduled further informational opportunities: administrators said they can present additional line-level detail, demonstrate financial modeling, or hold a half-day board retreat to discuss budget transparency and engagement, depending on what level of detail the board requests.

Ending: With the vote taken, the district will proceed under the preliminary budget authorization; staff said they will continue outreach and provide additional information to board members and the public as enrollment and state funding data become available.