Beloit board hears range of referendum scenarios totaling up to $42.4 million; district emphasizes pay, behavioral supports and transportation

Dr. Garrison, the district superintendent, told the Beloit School District Board of Education that the administration is proposing a nonrecurring operational referendum package to address what he described as an unsustainable fund balance trajectory and revenue limits that “do not currently provide the district with sufficient revenues to maintain our current operations.”

The presentation laid out guiding priorities — staff compensation and retention, academics and behavioral supports, facilities and transportation, and fund-balance restoration — and multiple scenarios that range from a base budget with no referendum to a four‑year package with higher annual salary increases. The scenarios produced modeled mill-rate impacts and projected surpluses or deficits over a three- or four-year window.

Why it matters: district leaders said state revenue limits and flat enrollment have squeezed local budgets for years and that administrators have used fund balance and recurring cuts to keep schools operating. Dr. Garrison said the district faces a potential fund-balance depletion in 2026 if no additional revenue is secured, warning that “in the year 2026, the district, the fund balance is projected to be depleted.”

Details of the scenarios and priorities - Staff compensation: The administration modeled a base scenario with a 3% annual increase for salaries and wages as the staffing component; the presentation noted…