Liberty Elementary board adopts FY 2025-26 budget after public hearing; parents press district on staffing and program cuts

The Liberty Elementary Governing Board adopted its fiscal year 2025-26 annual expenditure budget during its June 14 meeting after a required public hearing. Finance staff Crystal Mosier and Rebecca Williams presented the budget summary at the hearing and told the board the district met statutory public-notice and publishing requirements.

Mosier said the district based the budget on its 100th-day average daily membership (ADM) for 2024-25 (the current student count) rather than projecting additional students. She told the board the state Legislature had set funding at $5,113 per student for FY26, and the district used that figure in its revenue assumptions. Mosier said kindergarten counts as half a student for funding and tuition-based preschool students are not funded by the state.

Mosier summarized changes from the May revised budget to the adopted budget: general M&O (maintenance and operations) limits and the M&O override increased due to the $5,113 per-student amount and a few extra students, but carryforward is expected to be lower than last year. She said Prop 1/2/3 one-time monies were not yet available and that the district had been told recently it should receive some one-time funding (e.g., DAA and free-and-reduced-price-lunch supplements) but had not yet received amounts to include in the budget. The district planned a $700,000 transfer from capital to M&O. Mosier said overall M&O would be down approximately $368,000 from May and capital is up roughly $159,000.

Mosier said the district planned to reduce support services, operations, memberships, consultants, subscriptions and supplemental materials as part of cost control; staff will seek grants and alternative funding and closely monitor the budget throughout the year. The schedule of next steps includes publishing the annual financial report in October, a budget revision in December to reflect updated ADM and legislative changes and a May revision next year to align spending to actual expenses. The board voted to adopt the FY25-26 budget by a recorded 5-0 vote.

Public commenters at the hearing pressed the board on budget details. Parent Paul Jensen asked for an explanation of how the average teacher salary of $61,000 was calculated, asked about promised savings from electric buses and the budgeted savings amount, and asked how the district would manage if fewer staff are available than budgeted (long-term substitutes, contractors, combined classes). Parent Ashley Wright said the district had been over its projected budget and criticized leadership and communication about the financial situation; she also raised special-education concerns, noting the district employed only one school psychologist and asked whether contracting out services had been budgeted.

Why it matters: The adopted budget uses current ADM and a per-student state funding assumption. The public hearing surfaced parent concerns about transparency, staffing, special-education compliance and the allocation of override dollars intended for smaller class sizes and extracurriculars.

What92s next: Mosier said district staff will upload the adopted budget file as required, monitor spending monthly (monthly reporting to begin after August closing and first board report in September) and bring budget revisions to the board in December and next May. Parents and board members indicated they expect timely updates on staffing, FTE alignment and special-education staffing decisions.