McFarland projects balanced 2025–26 budget after insurance savings and enrollment revenue

District Administrator Aaron told the McFarland School District Board of Education that the district now projects a balanced budget for the 2025–26 school year, reversing an earlier projection that called for tapping about $390,000 from district reserves.

The district administrator said the shift stems from a mix of lower-than-expected costs and higher revenues: a new health insurance agreement that came in below prior estimates, a decision to pause filling a vacant diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging coordinator position, reductions in some extended contracts and bringing some services in-house, and increased oversight revenue tied to rising enrollment in the Wisconsin Virtual Academy.

Why it matters: The district had planned for an operating deficit as it prepared for an April referendum request that ultimately asked voters for less than administrators had sought. The projected turnaround reduces or may eliminate the need to draw on the district’s fund balance, but board members and staff emphasized the changes involve trade-offs that affect staff and students.

“We were coming into the year we had planned for a budget deficit. The last estimate had that at about $390,000,” Aaron said during the board meeting. He added that the district’s balanced projection “could change” and depends on final enrollments and state and local accounting that are not settled until later in the calendar year.

Board members pressed for context about what reductions mean in practice. One board member, speaking during discussion, said removing the DEI coordinator “just means that’s just one less voice that kids or a person that a kid can identify with,” and urged the district to be transparent about how vacant positions shift work onto other administrators.

Details and numbers officials cited - Planned deficit (previous estimate): about $390,000. - Projected effect on a representative tax example: the district’s prior estimate for a $400,000 home was within $43 of actual projections presented to voters during referendum outreach. - Open-enrollment revenue estimates: roughly $144,000 for students attending district “brick-and-mortar” schools and about $194,000 tied to students in the Wisconsin Virtual Academy. Officials noted final counts depend on who actually attends on the third Friday in September. - State revenue changes: the governor’s budget included a $325-per-student increase to the revenue limit. The district said that increase is built into its long-range tax estimates but is not funded through increased state general aid; instead the amount will be reflected on local tax bills.

Aaron and board members also reviewed special education funding. The district said the state increased special-education reimbursements modestly, but that the change does not come close to covering the district’s actual special-education costs and that “high-cost” reimbursement changes apply to a very small share of students and are difficult to predict for any single district.

Timing and next steps The district expects several data points to be finalized this fall: the official enrollment count (third Friday in September), Department of Revenue equalized values in October, and the annual meeting on Oct. 20, when the board will approve the budget and set the tax levy for the 2025–26 school year. Aaron said the levy figure presented to the board does not include the school tax levy credit municipalities later allocate to districts.

Community outreach and messaging Board members discussed how to communicate the update to families. Aaron said the plan is to send a district update in early August for families as they prepare for the school year, and to share a more complete budget packet ahead of the formal October votes. Jeff Mahoney, who board members credited for accurate forecasting, will be asked to review the communications before release.

Board members thanked staff and teachers for their willingness to accept difficult changes and cautioned the community that balancing the budget so far involved cost-cutting decisions with real impacts on staff and students.

What the board did not do No formal motions or votes on the budget were taken at the meeting; the session was an informational budget update and discussion. Final decisions on the levy and the 2025–26 budget will occur at the October meeting when required revenue and enrollment data are available.