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Franklin County schools outline 2026 budget, request $1.5 million in additional appropriations
Summary
Business manager Kendra Franks presented a proposed 2026 budget totaling $32,351,410 and a bus replacement plan; the board held a separate public hearing and later approved an additional appropriation request of $1,000,000 for the education fund and $500,000 for operations to provide spending flexibility.
At a public hearing on Sept. 8, Franklin County Community School Corporation business manager Kendra Franks presented the district's proposed 2026 budget, the bus replacement plan and a capital projects plan, and later the board approved an additional appropriation request for the 2025 budget.
Franks told the board the proposed 2026 budget totals $32,351,410, broken out as an education fund of $17,000,000, an operations fund of $8,100,000, a debt service fund of $6,251,410 and a rainy day fund of $1,000,000. "For the 2026 budget, bus replacement plan, and capital projects plan... we are advertising for a budget in education fund at 17,000,000, operations fund, 8,100,000, debt service fund, $6,251,410, and the rainy day fund at $1,000,000 for a total 2026 budget of $32,351,410," Franks said.
On transportation, Franks presented a continuing bus replacement schedule and said the district plans to purchase two buses in 2026 and to continue replacing two buses per year over the next five years, with the director of transportation, the superintendent and the mechanic making replacement determinations.
Franks also summarized capital projects identified in a recent building performance assessment of the district's three elementary schools. She said projects on the near-term list include HVAC maintenance, replacement of some cafeteria coolers and repairs to water lines. She noted that the list is not finalized and that the board will later see more detailed recommendations.
Franks and staff opened a separate public hearing on an additional appropriation for fiscal 2025. In that hearing she requested that the board and the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance be allowed to increase the 2025 appropriation by $1,000,000 in the education fund and $500,000 in the operations fund to provide conservative spending allowance in case of higher-than-expected costs. "This is not increasing any tax dollars," Franks said. "We do. Yes. In a cash balance, we have the money available. We're just asking for the allowance to be able to spend it if needed."
Two members of the public spoke during the hearings. Sarah Duffy asked what the additional appropriations would be used for; Franks said they are for forecasting and general fund needs including salaries and benefits, building repairs, contracted buses, fuel and utilities. Francis Brumback pressed for greater agenda transparency and asked whether the district would postpone major projects until enrollment and revenue impacts from legislative changes are clearer. Brumback also asked why recent cafeteria equipment purchases were not paid from the cafeteria fund.
Franks and other district officials said some revenues and reimbursements (including roughly $100,000 from the summer food program) posted after the August accounting close and will appear in next month's reports; she also said cafeteria menu and operational changes were being adjusted and that larger equipment replacements sometimes are handled through other budget processes. The board voted later in the meeting to approve the additional appropriation request.
The budget and appropriation discussions were framed by the board's stated goal of keeping the district's property tax rate stable in the near term while addressing immediate facility needs identified in assessments.
