Waukesha board approves $226.7 million 2024–25 budget and lowers levy by 2.47%

The School District of Waukesha Board of Education on Oct. 28 approved the district’s final 2024–25 budget and its tax levy, voting 8–0 on both measures at a special meeting.

The board approved a total-revenue budget of $219,008,849 and total expenditures of $226,725,880, including a required operating transfer of $21,971,912 from Fund 10 to Fund 27, according to the motion the board adopted. The board also approved a tax levy of $79,390,592, which the motion said includes $3,750,000 for the capital expansion fund and $7,900,000 for the debt service fund. Both motions passed on unanimous 8–0 roll-call votes.

The budget vote followed a presentation from Mr. Clark, the district’s finance lead, who outlined key drivers behind the plan. Clark said resident enrollment has fallen since its 2012 peak and put the current figure at "just under 10,600 resident students," a trend he said is broadly shared among Wisconsin districts. He said ESSER (federal coronavirus-relief) funds have been fully spent and that Fund 10 (operations) and Fund 27 (special education) are the primary operational funds in the adopted booklet.

Clark pointed to a projected increase of 7.97% in Special Education spending and described a defeasance strategy built into the budget that he said provides flexibility going forward. He said the budget assumes $1,600,000 in defeasance or prefunding revenue and that, as defeasance and bond call timing play out, the district expects a drop in the debt-service levy of about $5,400,000 next year — a change Clark framed as a potential cushion that could allow levy reductions in future years, though he cautioned state budget outcomes and elections could alter that picture.

Board member Carrie Kozlowski, who moved approval of both the budget and the levy, said the board wanted to "be mindful of the taxpayers on the levy" and to preserve flexibility given uncertainties in the coming months. Kozlowski’s motion to adopt the budget specified the revenue and expenditure totals and cited Department of Public Instruction accounting guidelines for the required Fund 10-to-Fund 27 transfer; the motion was seconded by Betty Koenig.

Board member David Wadd asked a clarifying question about a small delta between an earlier estimated levy and certified numbers. Clark said that adjustments in pupil counts, transfers of service and the district’s voucher/choice program numbers (choice growth came in at 14% versus a 15% estimate) were the primary reasons the certified revenue limit came in slightly below an earlier estimate.

The board’s chair clarified that the approved budget includes a final tax levy that the board recorded as decreasing by 2.47% and that the district’s final tax rate was stated in the meeting as $5.32 per $100,000 of property value. Meeting materials noted an 11-cent reduction from the tax-rate figure presented at the budget hearing in September.

What the board approved is described in the budget booklet (pages 5–16 provide fund-by-fund detail). Clark encouraged board members and interested members of the public to attend next month’s FNF session, where the district will begin building assumptions for the 2025–26 budget cycle and long-range forecasting.

Votes at a glance

• Budget approval: Motion by Carrie Kozlowski, seconded by Betty Koenig; adopted 8–0. Motion text: approve the 2024–25 budget as presented with $219,008,849 in total revenues and $226,725,880 in total expenditures, including a $21,971,912 required operating transfer from Fund 10 to Fund 27 per Department of Public Instruction accounting guidelines.

• Levy approval: Motion by Carrie Kozlowski, seconded by David Wadd; adopted 8–0. Motion text: approve the 2024–25 tax levy in the amount of $79,390,592, including $3,750,000 for the capital expansion fund and $7,900,000 for the debt service fund.

The board adjourned after completing the two votes. The district will begin forecasting for 2025–26 at the next FNF planning meeting; Clark said conversations about the new biennial state budget will start around the first of the year and run into the middle of next summer.