Wichita Public Schools CFO warns capital-outlay reserves will shrink without new revenue or spending cuts

Addie Lowell, chief financial officer for Wichita Public Schools, presented the district’s fiscal-year 2026 budget timeline and preliminary revenue estimates and warned trustees that the district faces intense capital-outlay pressures and a remaining $6.2 million deficit for the current fiscal year.

Lowell said capital outlay started the fiscal year with about $84 million in cash, and the district receives roughly $50.2 million a year in the main capital revenue streams (local property taxes, motor-vehicle tax and state equalization aid). She said average spending on facilities and related capital needs has been roughly $80 million per year and that independent experts estimate the district would need to spend more than $150 million annually to eliminate deferred-maintenance backlogs over a 10–20 year period.

“At this trajectory, start at $84 million, add in $50, take away $80: by the end of this fiscal year capital outlay goes down to $54 million,” Lowell said. “If we take it forward one more year…by the end of next fiscal year capital outlay is at $24 million. Sitting in this seat, I would never recommend taking capital outlay cash down that low.”

Lowell described capital-outlay as supporting many functions beyond repairs: school safety upgrades, districtwide software and hardware, furniture and equipment, fleet vehicles, CTE technology and uniforms. She noted a reported deferred-maintenance estimate of $1.2 billion for the district’s building portfolio and said portions of the district’s cash balance are legally restricted.

Lowell said on July 1, 2024 the district had about $348 million in unencumbered cash but that 48% of that (about $167 million) sat in capital and bond funds and 31% (about $109 million) in special-revenue funds that are legally restricted to specific purposes. She said the district’s contingency reserve amounted to about $41 million, roughly 6.9% of the operating budget — about eight to ten operating days — and not comparable to a three- to six-month household emergency fund.

On enrollment and the general fund, Lowell said the district’s FY25 audit reduced weighted full-time-equivalent counts and produced a $3.2 million reduction from adopted budgeted levels. Using audited FY25 figures as the starting point for FY26, she estimated the district could see about $28.6 million of additional operating revenue next year (including supplemental general-fund increases) before accounting for cost pressures.

Lowell and board members discussed where that new revenue would be consumed: transportation contract increases, utilities, insurance, completing the current-year deficit and a wage package. Board members and Lowell repeatedly stressed that much of the additional revenue will be needed to maintain current service levels rather than provide significant new spending.

Lowell also gave the board an update on the district’s remaining FY25 deficit. She said district administration plans to resolve the roughly $6.2 million remaining shortfall without cutting classroom instruction by pursuing administrative-center FTE reductions, consolidation of non-attendance-center departments and prioritizing program spending.

The CFO outlined next steps for facilities funding: forming a financial oversight committee with district leadership, board members, independent financial advisors and parents and students; convening a moderated constituent focus group about the facilities master plan (scheduled for March 26); and posting constituent surveys in late March. She told the board the district would plan both if a recent bond referendum were certified or if it failed, and said the administration would present additional financial analyses in coming months.

(Reporting note: numbers and program descriptions are drawn from the CFO’s presentation during the budget report agenda item. The district’s full audited financial statements and line-item reports are the primary source for official figures.)