Elk River board adopts "scenario 2" as target for 2026-27 budget planning amid questions about fund-balance math
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Summary
After extended questioning about unassigned vs. unrestricted fund balance and projection assumptions, the Elk River School District Board voted to accept scenario 2 as guidance for preliminary 2026-27 budget planning; board members asked staff to return in February with detailed projections.
The Elk River School District Board voted by voice to accept "scenario 2" as the planning target for the 2026-27 general-fund budget. "So with that, I would make a motion to accept scenario 2 for the 2627 budget planning general fund," said Speaker 5, who moved the motion; Speaker 4 seconded, and the chair declared the motion carried after a voice vote.
Board discussion before the vote focused on how the district reports and measures fund balance. Several board members asked staff to clarify the difference between unassigned, assigned and committed fund balances and to provide straightforward projected revenue and expenditure numbers so the board could better understand the district's current deficit picture. One board member warned that carryovers included in the revised budget can make a year'to'year comparison confusing.
Speaker 6 pressed for simple projections: "So I'm looking at revenue and expenditures. We took in 228,000,000. We spent 236,000,000 ... Is that correct?" and asked for clarity on whether the board should plan around unassigned or unrestricted balances. In the course of discussion members noted the district's unassigned fund balance was about 6.5% as of June 30, 2025, while the board has a target around 8%.
District staff said the scenario documents are intended as high-level direction so staff can build a preliminary budget; staff offered to return with February numbers and more detailed projections. Staff described the scenario range as roughly $3 million to $6.5 million in initial reductions or adjustments, with scenario 2 presented as a middle, conservative option that aims to preserve an 8% target without making immediate dramatic cuts.
By adopting scenario 2 as guidance, the board directed staff to use that scenario as the basis for building the preliminary 2026-27 budget, with further review and more detailed projections to come in February and later budget work sessions. The meeting ended with a voice vote to adjourn.