District gives first look at 2025–26 budget drivers; health-care and charter/special-ed costs highlighted

District business officials presented an initial look at budget drivers for 2025–26 and flagged several cost pressures that the board will review in coming budget sessions.

Key figures: a steady-state salary roll-forward produced an estimated 3.28 percent increase in salaries based on current positions and contractual steps. Benefits and employer-side costs were identified as major drivers: the board was told the district’s self-funded health plan is projecting roughly a 10 percent increase driven by high-cost claimants, and trustees discussed the difficulty of spreading high-cost medical claims across a district pool.

Officials said contract transportation costs rose significantly after a recent rebid, and that the district is negotiating service details with First Student to manage routes and communications. Tuition for charter schools and out-of-district special-education placements has also grown; the superintendent said the district is already over the current-year budget on related lines and will bring more detailed enrollment and tuition counts forward.

Board members urged an assessment of health-benefit options, including consortium models that spread risk, and asked for detailed counts: (a) out-of-district special-education placements and tuition totals, (b) charter-school enrollment and payments, (c) the number of pupils leaving after eighth grade, and (d) tryout/cut counts for athletics. Administration said it will produce those data items and return with a more detailed 2026 request column and tax-cap calculations at the next presentation.