Acadia Parish School Board adopts 2025–26 operating budget with modest deficit projected

The Acadia Parish School Board voted to adopt its operating budget for July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026, after a presentation from staff that outlined revenues, expenditures and recent one-time costs.

Mister Carrier, presenting the budget book, told the board the district’s 2023–24 actual general fund revenue was $92,732,913 and estimated the 2024–25 year would finish at $91,404,396. For 2025–26 Carrier said the district projects general fund revenue of $90,922,062 and proposed expenditures of $91,581,918, producing a projected deficit of $659,856.

“The only way to offset that and to balance the budget is to basically decrease expenditures, which is what we tried to do on this budget,” Carrier said while walking trustees through line items and summary pages. He noted adjustments that reduced costs this year, including an approximate 20% reduction in property insurance (about $400,000) and a 5% reduction in health insurance (about $550,000).

Carrier also told the board a roughly $500,000 invoice for Crowley High HVAC arrived in June and was charged to the 2023–24 year, which pushed that fiscal year toward deficit spending rather than a surplus. He said staff will not close the books until September but expects to track one-time construction costs separately.

Board members asked about federal Title funding and other grants. Carrier said state and federal releases are occurring and a webinar on Aug. 2 should provide specific allocation details. “We just don't know what our actual funding is gonna be,” Carrier said.

After discussion, a motion by Mister Higginbotham to adopt the budget resolution was seconded by Mister Jones and carried by voice vote. The board recorded the action as adoption of the operating budget for 2025–26 by voice vote.

The board’s next procedural step is routine budget monitoring; Carrier invited trustees to review the budget book and to meet with staff for detailed explanations.