Florence Unified adopts conservative FY26 budget after public hearing; superintendent outlines state funding changes

The Florence Unified School District Governing Board on July 8 adopted the district—s Fiscal Year 2026 annual expenditure budget after a public hearing and a presentation by Superintendent Knudson.

Superintendent Knudson told the board the statewide budget had only been finalized the week before the meeting and that the district—s proposed budget was prepared on a conservative assumption set. "Per guidance from the auditor generals, we're to stick with the same so if we propose on 1, we need to adopt on the other, and we can revise later," Knudson said. He said the district had prepared a conservative maintenance and operations (M&O) estimate that also assumed a 2.5% reduction in student enrollment.

Why it matters: Adopting the budget allows the district to meet statutory deadlines and begin the fiscal year with adopted spending limits, while retaining the option to amend the budget later if newly approved state revenues are reflected.

Knudson outlined several state-level developments that postdate the proposed budget and therefore are not reflected in the adopted numbers. He said the statewide K-12 budget approved June 26 included a 2% inflation adjustment to per-pupil funding. He also said lawmakers restored funds tied to free-and-reduced-price-lunch ratios that had been expected to be suspended, and that the School Facilities Oversight Board (SFOB) restored building-renewal grant funding after an anticipated cut.

"The inflation adjustment of 2% was approved," Knudson told the board. "That was money we had last year that was set to be suspended this year and the following fiscal year. The legislature decided to grant that funding again this year, which is a great thing for our district, so additional funds there. Again, those are not reflected on this budget because they weren't approved at the time that the proposed budget was created."

Knudson said SFOB grant funding had been slated for a large reduction but was restored; he described an increase of about $176,000,000 that returns the program to more than $200,000,000 statewide. He also described the district—s planned capital expenditures: an $8.4 million capital budget that includes roughly $3.9 million in carryforward reserves and about $4.9 million allocated as District Additional Assistance (DAA). Knudson said the plan is not to shift DAA capital allocations into M&O as had occurred in the prior year.

The budget document, Knudson said, also reflects the classroom site fund rebalance under Proposition 301 for personnel compensation and preserves a two-year reserve to support future base salary increases for certified staff.

Board action and questions: The board opened the public hearing and heard no public comments on the proposed budget. Board member Ms. Quist moved to adopt the FY26 annual expenditure budget "as presented during the public hearing." The motion was seconded and the board approved the adoption. The board made no formal amendments during the meeting.

What the district said it will do next: Knudson emphasized the adopted budget is conservative and can be amended to reflect state revenue actions that occurred after the draft was prepared. He said the district prefers adding capacity later if revenues materialize rather than reducing capacity mid-year.

Ending note: The budget adoption was routine in process but accompanied by an extended district briefing describing multiple pending state funding changes that the district will incorporate into future budget revisions if and when they are formally reflected in district allocations.