Carson City trustees hear $5.4 million FY2027 shortfall projection, approve short-term CIP change to buy three buses

Carson City — The Carson City School District board on Oct. 14 was warned that, if current staffing and benefit levels continue, the district faces a projected structural deficit of about $5.44 million in fiscal year 2027.

Spencer Windward, a district staff member who presented the numbers, told trustees the combination of the current year’s remaining structural shortfall and new salary-and-benefit costs would push the gap higher. “If we continued staff exactly how we are, what FY ’27 would look like,” Windward said, summarizing the projection. He showed a FY2026 structural deficit that would roll into FY2027 and then add an estimated $1.5 million for step increases and negotiated items, producing the $5.44 million figure.

Why it matters: the district’s general fund is heavily weighted to salaries and benefits — roughly 87% of expenses — so projections that assume no staffing or…