Francis Howell presents FY2026 budget proposal showing 27.3% estimated ending operating fund balance; board to vote June 19

Francis Howell R-III finance staff presented the district’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on June 5, showing an estimated ending operating fund balance of 27.3% under the current recommendations and laying out revenue assumptions, staffing requests and capital and debt plans. The board will consider final adoption at its June 19 meeting.

Chief Finance and Operations Officer Carol Embree and Director of Finance Julie Walsh reviewed assumptions including assessed-valuation growth, Hancock Amendment limits on revenue increases, a projected shift in state funding calculations toward enrollment measures, and ongoing uncertainty in interest income. Embree emphasized board policy 3114, which calls for an undesignated operating fund balance equal to 15% of prior-year operating expenditures and requires a replenishment plan if the balance drops below that level.

Key items highlighted for FY2026 included: a projected increase in local tax revenue tied to reassessment and new construction; an estimated state funding increase related to the adequacy target (referred to as a $3.2 million increase in the presentation); health insurance premium increases (administration cited a recommendation of a 14% increase to premiums, with design changes and district cost adjustments under consideration); several targeted staffing additions including three campus security officers (placement contingent on municipal agreements), an occupational therapist, registered behavioral technician paraprofessionals, an elementary English language arts content leader and a data associate; and an operating-to-capital transfer proposal reduced from prior years.

Administration reported that the district’s total expenditures are in the range of the previously discussed figure (approximately $333 million in overall expenditures shown in slides) and that, under the proposal, the district’s fund balance trajectory remains on a slow downward slope over the multi-year projection. Embree reminded the board that each 1% change in operating fund balance corresponds to roughly $2.5 million in district dollars.

Administrators flagged a handful of follow-up items: final enrollment and demographic study numbers that may arrive in July, potential updates from the state on the 160th-day or related staffing rules, and the need to finalize any fund transfers (including potential transfers from operating funds to self-insurance) after June 30 once final close-out figures are known. The board did not vote on this budget on June 5; the formal approval vote is scheduled for the June 19 business meeting.