DeWitt board approves 2024–25 budget amendment, projects $1.59 million shortfall but 18% fund balance

DeWitt Public Schools Board of Education members voted to approve an amended 2024–25 general fund budget after a presentation by the district’s finance staff that outlined revenue changes, expenditure adjustments and projected fund balances.

The amendment, described by district finance staff, raises projected total revenue to about $41,617,329 and increases expenditures to roughly $43.2 million, producing an estimated one-year shortfall of about $1,588,235 and an estimated fund balance of $7,934,229 as of June 30, 2025. The board approved the amendment by voice vote with no recorded roll-call tally.

District finance staff said the amendment reflects a mix of local, state, federal and other revenue adjustments. Locally, property tax cash collections increased, producing roughly $114,000 of new local revenue that is offset dollar-for-dollar by a corresponding reduction in state aid under current state funding rules. Athletic gate receipts were cited as up by about $14,000, and the district has received roughly $32,000 to date from a vaping-settlement distribution; those settlement dollars will be spent on a combination of student education and purchases targeted for Everson Woods, the middle school, and the high school.

On the state side, staff projected a net decline in state revenue of about $61,000 driven by several factors: a $114,000 reduction tied to taxable value changes that is mirrored by the local property-tax increase; an enrollment-related loss equal to roughly 13…