Fond du Lac officials present preliminary 2025–26 budget; district cites enrollment drop, plans community survey on possible referendum

Fond du Lac School District finance officials presented the preliminary 2025–26 budget at a public budget hearing and regular meeting, outlining a projected operational shortfall tied to declining enrollment and describing next steps that include a community survey and further board decisions.

The budget presentation, led by Mike Gerlach, the district’s chief of finance and operations, said the district faces a projected $7.5 million operational deficit for the current fiscal year that began July 1, a shortfall the district attributes in part to a failed operational referendum in April and to lower enrollment. Gerlach said the district has taken expense reductions already but expects additional difficult staffing and programming choices may be required if revenues do not change.

Gerlach and administrators told the board the district’s September head count was 6,219 students and that enrollment is down roughly 220–227 students year over year. Superintendent Matt Steinbarth told the board the decline was a warning that will affect funding under the state revenue-limit formulas and said administrators are analyzing where students have left — citing a combination of out‑of‑state moves, some return to countries of origin and modest movement to private schools — and exploring ways to retain or attract students, including studying a virtual option.

Why it matters: public-school funding in Wisconsin is driven principally by state aid and a locally levied share; without voter approval through an operational referendum a district’s…