CFO outlines $508 million district budget; operating funds, enrollment and reserves discussed

Russell McNapp, the district chief financial officer, presented the second of two budget workshops to the board, reviewing operating funds that make up about 61 percent of the district’s total $508 million budget.

McNapp said the district projects 26,532 students for 2025–26 (an increase of about 37 students over the current year) and is building the 2025–26 operating budget on the higher of the current or prior year audited enrollment. He said operating funding for 2025–26 is estimated at roughly $316 million, with about 73 percent coming from general state aid and about 24 percent from local taxes.

Key assumptions and highlights McNapp outlined include: a base per‑pupil value of $5,615 (an increase of $237 from the prior base), cost‑of‑living weighting moving to 6.25 percent (reducing that line by approximately $1.1 million), and a projected addition of 41.2 full‑time‑equivalent positions in the proposed budget. He noted health‑insurance renewal premiums are up about 9.8 percent; the district is modeling that increase in its projections, though final contribution levels remain subject to negotiations.

McNapp said the budget currently assumes $3 million in investment interest revenue for next year (down roughly $2 million from this year’s anticipated interest receipts) and that the district has increased a recapture/fallout estimate by $2.5 million based on historical vacancy savings. He also noted the district absorbed 51 positions in recent years that were initially paid from federal ESSER funds and that maintaining those positions in operating funds will be evaluated annually.

On the expenditure side, McNapp reported total operating expenditures of about $306 million in the draft, before any negotiated salary or benefit increases. Major cost drivers included salaries and benefits (about 84–85 percent of operating expenditures), health‑insurance costs, transportation contract increases (about 3 percent), and utility cost increases. The projected ending balance for the current fiscal year was presented at about $49.2 million; under the draft assumptions for 2025–26 revenues were estimated to exceed expenditures by about $9.9 million, not including future negotiated raises or final insurance decisions.

Board members asked about the risk of changing federal funds and the purpose of maintaining reserves. McNapp and the superintendent said the district seeks to maintain prudent reserves so it can respond to funding volatility or mid‑year changes in federal allocations. Trustees also asked how strategic‑plan action teams’ recommendations — for example, proposed additional counseling or program costs — feed into the budget process. Administration said those recommendations are reviewed by cabinet and would be considered during the normal staffing and budget cycle; some timing may require deferral to the next budget cycle.

McNapp said the formal budget process will continue this summer: the board will consider a vote to exceed the revenue neutral rate on June 23 and conclude with budget hearings and final adoption in August. No formal budget adoption vote took place at the meeting.