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Muhlenberg County board considers FY26 tentative budget, highlights $5M-plus maintenance needs
Summary
District finance staff presented a tentative FY26 budget showing revenue shifts and a prioritized list of building and equipment repairs estimated at about $5 million, including roofing, turf replacement and HVAC projects.
Muhlenberg County school district staff presented the second iteration of the fiscal year 2026 tentative budget and told the school board the district is prioritizing major maintenance and safety projects that could total more than $5 million over the next three to five years.
The district’s tentative revenue summary included a drop in SEEK funding of about $1.1 million (state support for education), a roughly $180,000 reduction in food-service revenue and an estimated property-tax revenue increase of about $165,000 attributable to assessment growth rather than a tax-rate increase. The presenter noted daycare revenue is not populated in the software-generated report and will appear in the working budget.
Staff identified a list of near-term maintenance and renovation needs across the district, including:
- Metal-roof coating and repairs at the high school and resurfacing the football turf (budgeted at a minimum of $780,000; staff earmarked $900,000), - Multiple HVAC and heat-pump replacements at several schools (estimates quoted for groups of units range from tens of thousands to more than $200,000), - Blacktop and exterior door repairs (examples: $440,000 for blacktop work; $11,000 per exterior door unit where replacements are required), - Bus garage HVAC and duct work (estimated near $500,000), and - A full replacement of a brittle 3-inch PVC water line serving the middle school as part of related field-house work.
District staff said part of the decline in federal COVID-era special funds has reduced the fund-2 balance the district used in recent years to supplement payroll and other costs. The tentative budget shows roughly $39 million in the general fund with employee salaries as the largest category.
The board moved to consider the fiscal year 2026 tentative budget by a formal motion and vote; the motion passed on a voice vote to advance the tentative budget for the next steps in the adoption process.
Staff said the next steps include refining the salary schedule and preparing a working budget that will include daycare revenues and any updates to projected revenues and expenditures. At the meeting, board members asked staff to research vendor origins for synthetic turf and to continue prioritizing student safety in maintenance choices.
