Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CFO presents FY2026 tentative budget; district projects drop in ending fund balance
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Cassie Stolthier presented a FY2026 tentative budget showing a projected decline in the district's ending general fund balance, impacts from PERS and transportation costs, and a planned $6 million pay-as-you-go capital drawdown; trustees asked for more details and tracking.
Cassie Stolthier, the district's finance director, presented the FY2026 tentative budget as a required NRS presentation and outlined key revenue and expenditure trends affecting the Elko County School District.
Stolthier told the board the audited ending fund balance for FY2024 was $12.2 million and said her latest projection anticipates the ending fund balance decreasing to about $5.9 million for the coming year unless contingency funds are untouched. "We are in a budget deficit this year," she said, explaining revenues are down while expenditures increase.
Major drivers cited in the presentation included a 3% PERS (retirement) increase with a projected impact of about $2.3 million, transportation cost increases tied to the people-centered funding model, and the end of federal COVID supplemental funds that reduce federal revenue by roughly $4.6 million. Stolthier also reported the district will absorb the final balance of prior COVID funds and that some special-education costs will increase the general-fund transfer to Special Education (STO staff said the planned transfer is on the order of $10.8 million).
Stolthier said the district budgeted $170,000 for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to replace aging payroll/finance software and proposed $6 million in pay-as-you-go capital spending next year (a reduction from higher prior-year spending). She said the district's audit year-end balances and state allocation methods limit local discretion on some revenue assumptions; state demographic and allocation decisions determine adjusted base funding and enrollment-driven revenue allocations.
Why it matters: The budget presentation shows multi-million-dollar pressures in benefits, transportation and special education that will constrain discretionary spending and require careful controls. Board members asked for continued reporting on enrollment, achievement and food-service impacts tied to the four-day calendar and other changes.
Next steps: Stolthier said staff will return with final figures after state economic forums and legislative outcomes are known; the board will consider final budget adoption at the upcoming May meeting.
