Director Flett presented an update on the district's FY27 budget development, telling the board that the district is tracking a decline in average daily membership that is already pressuring next year's finances. He said the district is currently funded for 11,966 students in FY26; projected actual FY26 ADM is 11,123 and, with three-year averaging, projected FY27 funded ADM is 11,562.

Flett said four draft recommendations from a state recalibration committee could materially change the math: an increase in student'teacher ratio inputs in the funding formula, elimination of the three-year rolling average (funding on prior-year only), an update to regional cost adjustments, and revisions to teacher-salary blocks. "So once we put these four big components in the funding model and we project it out to FY27, that takes our revised FY27 general fund budget projection savings from 5,800,000 to now we need to find and save $15,000,000 on an ongoing basis as a school district," he said.

Trustees asked how those changes would affect local classroom sizes and seats. Flett explained that while the state funding model would drive less funding, local boards retain latitude over actual class-size decisions and how to deploy FTE. "It's largely a district decision on what our class sizes are," he told trustees, while acknowledging the funding formula influences available resources.

The projected $15 million figure was presented as preliminary and contingent on final legislative or committee action. The board asked staff to continue modeling impacts and to use committee meetings to bring forward strategies for possible reductions, consolidations, or alternatives to closures.

Trustees and staff flagged the timeline and legal processes that will influence any final decisions and emphasized the need to balance fiscal responsibility with educational program continuity in affected schools.