Holman electors recommend $23.26 million combined tax levy after budget hearing

Holman electors on Oct. 27 recommended a combined tax levy of $23,263,467 for the 2025–26 school year after the district presented its original budget for the year beginning July 1, 2025.

Julie Holman, the district’s executive director of finance and operations, told electors the budget reflects a state-approved $325 per‑pupil increase in the revenue limit that, because the state did not increase the equalization aid pot, will be funded through property taxes. "There was not an increase in the low revenue limit ceiling," Holman said, and the district used a 40% reimbursement assumption for special education categorical aid in preparing the original budget.

The nut of the budget presentation: the district forecasts general fund revenues of about $56.96 million against expenditures of $57.94 million and expects to use fund balance again in 2025–26. Holman said the projected June 30, 2026 general fund ending balance is $14,040,229, or about 24.2% of expenditures—below the board’s stated target range.

Why it matters: Holman faces structural pressures common to many Wisconsin districts. Holman’s three‑year average membership is 3,944 and the district continues to lose more students to open enrollment than it gains, Holman said. For 2025–26 the district counts 218 nonresident students open‑enrolled in and 430 Holman resident students open‑enrolled out, a net estimated revenue loss of about $2,092,000. The district also estimates the combined effect of the state’s choice and special‑needs scholarship programs at roughly $1,782,046 for 2025–26.

Holman outlined the revenue‑limit mechanics for electors unfamiliar with the formula, noting that the $325 per‑pupil increase is enabled by statute but not paid from a larger state aid pot. "It's not an increase from the state because they didn't allocate more money in the state equalized aid pot of money," Holman said during a member question-and-answer exchange.

Special education and interfund transfers: Special education is budgeted at about $11.2 million with a required transfer of $6.2 million from the general fund; the district said it uses the transfer to avoid a negative special‑education fund balance. Holman also flagged coding changes that moved contracted substitutes in special education into instructional line items, which affects year‑to‑year comparisons.

Debt, capital projects and construction: The district reported estimated debt service revenues of $10.9 million and expenditures of $7.66 million for 2025–26 and estimated outstanding indebtedness near $74.4 million tied to recent construction projects. Work from the 2022 referendum is described as nearing substantial completion, with some projects continuing into the next year.

Public comment and questions: Resident Maggie Smith asked for clarification about why rising equalized property value does not always mean new dollars for the district; Holman explained that, because the general fund levy is capped by the revenue limit formula, property‑value growth affects tax rate, not necessarily total levy. Smith also noted the growth of voucher expenditures over the past decade.

Votes at a glance: During new business electors approved several motions by voice vote: approval of the 2024 annual meeting minutes; setting board member salaries for 2025–26 (motion moved by Cheryl Hancock); authorization of board member reimbursement when incurred in the performance of duties (moved by Barb Wenche); and a motion to recommend the 2025–26 tax levy of $23,263,467 (moved by Bridget Todd Robbins and seconded by Khadijah Islam). The meeting chair called the voice votes as carried.

What’s next: The board will consider adoption of the original budget and the formal certification of the levy following this meeting; the district will publish the DPI summary and the required public notices.