Lake Havasu Unified adopts 2025-26 budget; officials project lower state funding and show reserves

The Lake Havasu Unified School District governing board on July 10 adopted the district's fiscal 2025-26 budget after a public hearing that included a line-by-line overview from Business Services Director Victoria Farr.

Farr told the board she expects a decline in state funding tied to lower student counts and other formula changes. "I'm estimating that for current year funding ... about $766,000 less than we were last year," Farr said. She also described how Arizona fund accounting splits district activity across dozens of restricted funds and reviewed the district's reserve balances.

At the hearing, Farr explained average daily membership (ADM) funding mechanics and said the district had 1,483 students last year and she projects a loss of roughly 147 students for the coming year because kindergarten cohorts are smaller than the graduating senior cohort. That enrollment change, she said, will reduce the maintenance and operations (M&O) revenue the district receives from the state.

Farr walked the board through major budget buckets and restrictions, noting some funds are cash-controlled while others are budget-authority controlled. She cautioned that federal grants and other allocations sometimes change after the budget is filed and that those adjustments are reconciled in later revisions.

The presentation included these reserve figures Farr read to the board: M&O reserves of $9,741,060; unrestricted capital reserves of $7,857,904; bond building reserves of $927,993; adjacent ways reserves of $251,144; and classroom site fund reserves of $1,182,220. Farr said federal and state grant carryovers were still uncertain because of outstanding payroll and invoicing.

Farr showed a combined tax rate example of $348.47 per $100,000 of assessed value for fiscal 2026 and explained how limited and assessed values differ in Arizona's property tax calculation.

Board members held the required public hearing and then took a roll-call vote to adopt the budget. The board approved the adopted budget for fiscal 2025-26 by recorded vote during the meeting (agenda item 6.6). Farr said she will return in August and September with any required revisions after state forms and final legislative allocations are finalized.

The board and staff noted next steps: the district must file the annual financial report by Oct. 15 for the prior fiscal year and track encumbrances through the August encumbrance period so prior-year invoices can be paid.

Provenance: Victoria Farr presented the budget and figures during the public hearing (transcript start 00:11:49). The board vote to adopt the budget is recorded later in the meeting (transcript start 02:08:12).