Excelsior Springs board delays vote on 2025-26 budget, requests work session

The Excelsior Springs School District Board of Education delayed a final vote on the proposed 2025-26 budget after a board member moved to table approval and requested a budget work session before the board’s next meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Tomlinson presented the budget as a plan that aligns spending with district priorities — academic programs, student wellness, small class sizes and investments in technology and facilities — while noting pressure from inflation and rising contracted service costs. "The state just passed their budget this week. It hasn't been signed by the governor yet... the legislature's passed a fully funded formula," Tomlinson said, and added that many nonpersonnel expenditures have risen about 15%–18 percent.

Tomlinson told trustees the district had built the proposed budget conservatively: it includes a roughly 2 percent step increase in pay for staff, a $200,000 contribution to buy down health-insurance costs for employees, and no adjustment to the salary schedule. He said the budget as presented comes in slightly below last year’s expenditures after accounting for one-time building spending and that the district has reduced more than 15 positions in recent years.

A board member moved to table approval "and that the board hold [a] work session on the budget prior to considering approval of the next board meeting currently scheduled for June," saying the purpose was to give trustees time to ask questions, receive additional detail and better explain the budget to the community. The transcript records the motion and a request for additional time and public explanation; the transcript does not record a final roll-call tally for that motion in the provided excerpt.

The discussion highlighted several items trustees asked to review further: local revenue declines tied to assessed valuation changes, sensitivity of expenditures to contracted services and utilities, and the district’s reliance on state funding formulas and potential levy decisions. Tomlinson warned the board that without additional revenue the district may face difficult choices if it must compete with neighboring districts on salaries.

Trustees did not take a final adoption vote in the excerpted record. The board member who moved to table spoke repeatedly about the need for a collaborative review and community education before final approval. The board is expected to set the date and agenda for the requested work session before its next public meeting.