Bremen CHSD 228 staff outlines conservative FY2026 budget; board opens required public hearing

Bremen Community High School District 228 staff presented the district’s final fiscal year 2026 budget and opened the public hearing required for adoption, outlining conservative revenue estimates, fund balances and program priorities.

The presentation explained that the district uses cash-basis accounting and that the budget process typically includes an operating budget approved in spring, a tentative budget in July and a final adoption after a public hearing. District staff said revenues and expenditures are recorded when they occur, a practice the presenter described as producing “an actual view of cash on hand” and helping avoid overestimating the district’s financial health.

The budget matters because it funds staffing, instruction, transportation and capital work for the coming school year, and the public hearing satisfies statutory requirements before the board may adopt the final budget.

District staff outlined four main operating funds — Education, Operations and Maintenance, Transportation, and IMRF/Social Security — and three nonoperating funds: debt service, capital projects and working cash. Staff said transfers among funds require a board resolution. The presenter described the FY2026 revenue assumptions as conservative: interest earnings were budgeted to match FY2025 actuals at $3,400,000; evidence-based funding calculations yielded an estimated additional $1,400,000 in state aid; and federal revenues were limited in the budget to Title I and RTS grants only.

Staff provided a revenue mix for operating funds of roughly 49.7% local, 46.6% state and 2.7% federal. The presenter emphasized a shift from prior years when local property taxes made up a larger share of revenue and noted that Bremen CHSD 228 is a tax-cap district, which limits property-tax revenue growth to CPI or 5% whichever is lower; the presenter said the CPI for the 2025 levy was 2.9%.

On expenditures, staff said salaries and benefits remain the largest cost, and noted a 21.5% increase projected for the district’s PPO insurance costs and a 7.3% increase for the HMO plan. Supplies, materials and purchased services — including transportation, instructional and professional services such as attorneys, athletic trainers and auditors — were called out as inflation-sensitive line items. The presenter said technology purchases accounted for 34.3% of the supplies and materials category, with instructional materials and pupil support making up the remainder.

Debt-service information: staff said the only remaining district debt is a qualified school construction bond issued before 2018 and that the debt-service levy has remained level since 2019; absent new borrowing, the presenter said the levy will remain in place until the bond retires in 2040.

Staff highlighted estimated fund balances as of June 30, 2026, and cited a days-of-cash-on-hand figure of 204.97, above the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) 180-day threshold that ISBE uses to categorize low financial risk. The presenter concluded that the district is maintaining healthy fund balances and that no new general-obligation borrowing is planned.

After the presentation the board opened the public hearing on the FY2026 budget and the cash-balance disclosure as required before adoption. The hearing was opened for comments; transcript excerpts include extended public commentary that followed.

The board’s next formal step, adoption of the final FY2026 budget, remained on the evening’s agenda following the public hearing.