Shakopee district presents FY2026 preliminary budget, warns of structural shortfalls for 2026–27

Shakopee Public School District officials on May 12 presented a preliminary fiscal 2026 budget that uses a portion of restricted fund balances to hold services steady next year and flagged a structural shortfall expected to begin in fiscal 2026–27.

The presentation by Zolmanazi, identified in the meeting as the district’s director of finance and operations, listed the main assumptions driving the FY26 budget: an operating-levy authority of $1,371.84 per pupil for tax payable 2025; a 2.34% inflation factor tied to levy limits; a state formula allowance increase of 2.74% that sets the per‑pupil formula at $7,281; and an enrollment projection of 7,457 students for 2025–26, a decline of about 82 students from the current year.

Zolmanazi said the general fund revenue for FY26 is projected at about $125.5 million and expenditures at roughly $132.2 million, and that the district plans to use portions of restricted and assigned fund balances to hold the unassigned fund balance near 10% of general fund expenditures. "I will give you the headline that I'm not planning to go over all 44 pages tonight," Zolmanazi told the board as he reviewed…