Park City School District presents FY26 budget plan; adoption set for June 17

The Park City School District’s finance team presented a draft FY26 budget that would be adopted by the board at its June 17 meeting, and warned the district will draw about $2.6 million from reserves to balance projected expenses.

The business administrator, presenting the document, said the board will adopt total expenditures and the property tax rate next month and cautioned that “a budget is only good for the 10 minutes after it’s off the press,” reflecting how grants and other changes can alter figures during the year.

The draft shows enrollment falling from 4,117 this year to a projected 4,007 next year — a decline the presentation said will affect revenue and staffing decisions. The presentation itemized major cost drivers: a negotiated compensation package with an estimated cost of $5.8 million for the coming year, the reduction of roughly 32 staff positions overall, and the capital outlay changes tied to multi‑year construction work. The district projects FY26 revenues of about $118 million and said it would use reserves to cover a projected $2.6 million shortfall, reducing the fund balance from approximately $44 million to about $41 million.

Officials told the board the district expects a recapture payment to the state of about $33 million for FY26 — money that will leave the local district and be returned to the state under Utah’s funding formulas — and that the final certified basic levy rate set by the Legislature (discussed in recent sessions) could increase the amount some taxpayers see on their bills even if local levies are unchanged. The presentation said the district intends to adopt rates that keep the board’s controllable levies at certified levels and not to “relax” local levies to raise more revenue.

Staff framed the budget as conservative on revenues and cautious on one‑time income such as interest earnings; they noted one‑time interest has been used previously to offset an onetime construction expense (Trailside) but said they prefer not to rely on such income for ongoing operations. The budget book is a draft to be posted before June 1 for public review; board members discussed the timing of public outreach and suggested communicating the board’s intent not to increase local levies while explaining how state changes can affect individual tax bills.

The presentation included fund‑balance detail and a chart showing that roughly 85% of general‑fund expenditures are salaries and benefits, limiting other discretionary spending. Staff said they will continue to monitor enrollment and legislative actions and will bring the FY26 adoption and certified tax rate to the board for formal votes on June 17.

Board action: none taken on adoption at this meeting; the board was scheduled to adopt the final FY25 budget and the FY26 expenditures and tax rates at the June 17 meeting.