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District chief reports near‑balanced 2025–26 general fund; board and staff flag health-insurance risk
Summary
Chief Chicoine told the board a first draft of the 2025–26 general fund is essentially balanced after an intensive review, but staff flagged potential additional health‑insurance liabilities and a tight reserve position.
Chief Chicoine reviewed high-level assumptions and a first‑read of the Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1 2025–26 general fund. He told the board the first draft is balanced on a recurring basis after a district work session to correct prior overages and that the projected recurring deficit is modest relative to the district’s overall budget.
Chicoine summarized revenue assumptions the board heard, including state per‑pupil funding and local property tax estimates. He reported a funded pupil count and the district’s total program funding figure as presented in the packet and cited the district’s net assessed valuation and mill levy as the basis for local property tax revenue estimates.
On expenditures, Chicoine said salary and benefits make up a high proportion of the general fund — he reported salary and benefits at about 84% of budgeted expenditures — and noted instructional expenditures exceed 60% of spending. He called out health‑insurance cost increases (noting an increase in premium assumptions) and said an actuarial IBNR (incurred but not reported) estimate flagged a possible additional liability in claims that the district’s actuary is reviewing.
Chicoine described a small recurring deficit in the draft budget (a few thousand dollars on a roughly $90M budget, as presented) and said unencumbered reserves were above minimum policy but tight; he urged continued monitoring of health‑insurance results and cash flow. He thanked staff and board members who participated in the deep budget review that produced the draft.
Board members congratulated the executive team on producing a near‑balanced budget and pressed for continued transparency and monitoring. Director Ramirez asked for more details on the health‑insurance estimate; Chicoine said the IBNR indicated an additional estimated exposure and the actuary is reviewing to refine that figure, with an expected update on June 11 and final self‑insurance numbers in August.
Ending: No budget adoption vote was taken at the meeting; staff will return with updated financials and additional fund-level details at a June work session and later in the summer as final insurance and enrollment figures are confirmed.
