Harrison School District 2 projects $4.6M shortfall in proposed 2025–26 budget; board to vote June 5

Corey Arcuri, chief financial officer for Harrison School District 2, told the school board Thursday that the district’s proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget projects about $4.6 million more in expenditures than revenues and includes staffing reductions, program cuts and targeted pay increases for licensed staff and educational support professionals (ESPs).

Arcuri said the district entered the 2024–25 school year facing a roughly $10.6 million gap between budgeted expenses and revenue and, after midyear adjustments and cuts, projects to close that to about $3.7 million by the end of the year. The proposed budget presented May 15 shows a remaining projected shortfall of about $4.6 million for next year, he said. The board will consider adoption at its June 5 meeting.

The proposed budget assumes a districtwide decline of roughly 242 students (a four‑year average used for projections) and a state funding increase that Arcuri estimated would raise…