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Granite Falls board approves 2025–26 budget, cites bond payoff and enrollment uncertainty
Summary
The Granite Falls School District board approved the 2025–26 budget after hearing that payoff of a major high-school bond will lower the district’s debt-service levy and boost fund balance, while leaders warned of continuing federal and state revenue risks and monitored rising kindergarten enrollment that could require rapid hiring.
The Granite Falls School District board on Tuesday approved the 2025–26 budget, citing a stronger year-end fund balance after the recent payoff of a high-school bond and projecting both possible enrollment growth and continued risk to federal funding.
Marshall Griffiths, the district business officer, told the board the budget was based on an enrollment estimate of about 2,194 students and that the district is budgeting for a year-end fund balance of roughly $3.3 million, or about 7.3% of expenditures. He emphasized that paying off the Granite Falls High School bond reduced debt-service obligations dramatically — from about $4.8 million to roughly $500,000 in the 2026 tax year — producing what he described as a roughly 41% decrease in overall tax rates for Granite Falls taxpayers.
"We based our budget on enrollment of 2,194," Griffiths said, and later noted the fund balance forecast and bond payoff as key drivers of the district’s improved position.
The presentation also…
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