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Madison Local board hears update showing tighter five‑year outlook after missed calculation
Summary
Madison Local School District treasurer reported May updates to the five‑year forecast showing smaller ending balances than the district expected after a 2% labor increase was omitted from November projections; the board approved the May forecast and monthly financial statements.
The Madison Local School district treasurer told the board on May 19 that the district’s reconciled cash balance as of April 30, 2025, was $13,722,581.3 and that general‑fund receipts through April totaled $26,463,333 while expenditures were $24,824,468.
The treasurer said the May update to the district’s five‑year forecast reduces projected ending cash balances compared with the November 2024 forecast because a 2% increase in wages required by the district’s collective bargaining agreement had not been included in the November numbers. The treasurer told the board that “that difference, the increase in our expenditures was right around $537,000” for the fiscal year because the omitted 2% and higher medical insurance costs were added back into the calculation.
Board members discussed the practical effect of the change. The treasurer said that in the November 2024 forecast the projected ending cash balance for the general fund was about $2,683,000 and that the May update shows about $2,551,000 — a decrease of roughly $132,000. The treasurer added that compounding of the omitted labor increase and higher benefit costs pushes larger shortfalls into later years of the forecast and that the district’s FY2029 projection moved further into negative territory in the updated run.
Board members and staff walked through drivers the treasurer cited: salaries and benefits together account for the majority of expenditures (the treasurer said salaries represent about 57.24% of total expenditures and benefits about 21.43%), a 2% contract wage increase beginning FY26, and a January rise in medical/prescription costs the treasurer said was about 22% for this year. The treasurer described conservative assumptions for revenues and somewhat liberal assumptions for expenditures to avoid underestimating future pressure.
Board members asked how the district was offsetting those added costs. The treasurer and other staff said a wave of retirements this year reduced payroll obligations; the treasurer said the district had about nine retirements in the snapshot used for the May forecast and that the board and administration planned not to replace five of those positions and to hire the remaining replacements at entry steps, reducing the net payroll impact. The treasurer also said special‑education caseloads and health‑insurance projections remain uncertain and noted the district will finalize insurance rates in August.
After the presentation the board approved the monthly financial statements and donations listed on the consent agenda and then voted to approve the May five‑year forecast as presented. The board also asked that the forecast materials and assumptions be posted to the district website after approval.
Why it matters: the five‑year forecast guides staffing and spending decisions for the district; the board flagged that an omitted contractual wage increase in an earlier forecast materially changed multi‑year outlooks and prompted discussion of retirements, hiring strategy and benefit costs.
