Parkway presents FY26 preliminary budget; proposes $5 million one-time transfer and 20% premium increase to shore up self-funded health plan

Carrie Nunn, Parkway’s chief financial officer, presented the district’s preliminary FY26 budget to the Board of Education on May 14 and described a set of short- and long-term steps to address rising benefit costs and maintain the district’s fund balance.

Nunn said Parkway’s self-funded insurance reserve stood at about $4.2 million in March while the district’s reserve goal is $12.3 million, creating an $8.1 million shortfall. To address that gap the FY26 budget includes a one-time district contribution of $5,000,000 and a proposed 20% increase in district premiums that Nunn estimated would generate roughly $4,100,000. “We are bringing to you a balanced budget,” Nunn said.

Don Trocki, executive director of finance, described other budget items: the district remains heavily locally funded (about 92% of operating revenue is local), property taxes account for roughly 83% of local receipts, the district has the lowest residential tax rate among St. Louis County school districts (a voluntary rollback in tax year 2024 helped), and state actions such as the senior tax freeze and CPI limits affect future revenue. Trocki told the board that federal grant funds have “no kind of impact to our budget because it's revenues and expenditures all equal.”

The budget presentation listed several cost-management steps the district has adopted in development of the FY26 numbers: reduced carryover allocations at school buildings, lower supplies and materials budgets, restricted travel and meals for district administrators, and revised vacancy budgeting based on historical fill rates. Those reductions, Nunn said, created room to transfer $9.1 million to the self-funded account in FY26 to stabilize benefits.

Staff also described staffing adjustments driven by changes in service delivery: Special School District (SSD) transportation functions are moving to SSD staffing (removing some FTEs from Parkway’s books) and Chartwells (the food-service vendor) conversions reduce district FTEs when employees retire and the positions move to vendor payroll.

On capital and debt, staff said Parkway will likely pursue a second issuance related to Prop S of about $172,000,000 to continue planned facility projects; the district retains a AAA credit rating, one of only four Missouri school districts with that rating. Enrollment declines since 2019, particularly smaller kindergarten classes, were noted as a factor affecting long-term staffing and budget planning.

Board members asked about the senior tax freeze and whether the county had provided counts of Parkway seniors who had applied; staff said county reporting is still coming and final figures will not be available until November. No formal vote was taken on the budget at the meeting; the presentation was a first read and staff said they expect further board work sessions and to return with final figures.

The board approved the evening agenda and the consent agenda earlier in the meeting (motions carried 7–0). Finance staff said the district intends to continue planning work, including a longer-term budget task force led by the superintendent to evaluate structural changes needed beyond FY26.