Sheboygan board reviews 2025–26 preliminary budget with special-education funding uncertainty

The Sheboygan Area School District presented its proposed preliminary budget for 2025–26 to the Board of Education, outlining revenue assumptions and proposed expenditures while cautioning that the district will revisit figures after the state budget is finalized.

Superintendent Dr. Conrad and presenter Mark Belkey said the draft assumes a $325 increase to the per-pupil amount and a 10% increase in state special-education reimbursement. Belkey said the 10% special-education reimbursement assumption would add about $1,400,000 in revenue and that the draft “cost to go forward” projection shows about a $1,500,000 surplus that is largely dependent on that reimbursement estimate.

The draft also relies on several expense adjustments. Administrators included $764,000 in savings from expected staff turnover and a projected net reduction of 4.2 full-time-equivalent teaching positions tied to enrollment shifts. On the spending side, the presentation includes a proposed 2.95% salary increase for each of three employee groups (teachers, support staff and administrators), a $150,000 placeholder for converting personal/sick leave to a paid-time-off (PTO) system for teachers, and a recommended increase in the capital projects (Fund 41) budget toward a $2,000,000 target to address deferred maintenance.

Board members pressed for clarity on the key assumptions. A board member asked how the $325 per-pupil figure compares to inflation; Belkey replied that $325 represents roughly a 2% revenue-limit increase and “still falls far short” of inflationary pressure. Officials described the 10% special-education reimbursement as a conservative but optimistic estimate; Belkey said the governor’s proposal had sought a much larger increase, and that “anything short of 60% is just disingenuous” to the actual costs districts bear for special education.

Administrators emphasized contingency planning. Belkey and Dr. Conrad said the district will return in May and again in June with updated figures as state and insurance numbers firm up. If the state budget leaves reimbursement lower than the draft assumes, Belkey said budget adjustments likely will be required. Dr. Conrad told the board the district has no realistic plan to absorb very large sudden losses in federal or state funding without “gutting” services.

The board did not adopt the preliminary budget at the meeting; Belkey said the board typically adopts a preliminary budget in June and a final budget by October, and that any salary changes would be retroactive to July 1 if the final state budget supports them.