Ferguson-Florissant presents preliminary 2026–27 budget, reports mid-term disbursement surge and projected enrollment decline
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Summary
Administration presented December disbursements, preliminary 2026–27 budget estimates and demographer projections indicating an approximate 350-student decline by 2030–31; board requested more detailed slides on capital outlay, food-service revenues, and federal program breakdowns.
The Ferguson-Florissant School District review on Feb. 10 covered the district’s December disbursements, a preliminary budget for fiscal 2026–27 and early enrollment projections that administration said show a modest multi-year decline.
Finance director Mr. Chance presented the December 2025 disbursements: payroll of $8,373,959 and operational disbursements of $2,039,876, for total monthly expense of $10,413,835. He reported year-to-date expenditures, revenues by fund and object categories, and said a large January tax disbursement from St. Louis County had improved collections relative to the prior year.
Mr. Chance introduced the preliminary 2026–27 budget as an early estimate. He said the plan shows a modest projected increase of about $1.3 million on a roughly $158 million base, and projected salary increases totaling about $2.9 million (approximately 2.78% across the district). Local revenue categories shown included current real-estate property taxes ($64.3 million), Prop C sales tax ($14.3 million) and M & M surtax ($12.7 million). Mr. Chance also noted one-time ESSER III funds included in the current year would not recur.
Dr. Fields summarized the district’s enrollment review. The district hired demographer Dr. Charles Coffran to produce cohort-based K–12 projections; the preliminary table in the presentation showed the district with 8,191 resident students in the current year and administration said the mid-range projection indicates a decline of roughly 350 students by the 2030–31 school year. Administration said detailed feeder-area projections and maps will be presented at the next board meeting to support facility-utilization planning.
Board members pressed for more clarity before final budget adoption. Requests included:
- A slide that isolates the general operating fund and clearly shows beginning and ending fund-balance percentages (to avoid confusion caused by combining debt service and capital projects in one slide). - A facilities report listing in-house trades staff (carpenters, plumbers) versus contracted work and how capital outlay ($5.2M referenced in the presentation) will be allocated across maintenance and building projects. - A food-service breakdown showing how much the district receives in federal meal reimbursement and how much is paid to Aramark for food-service contracts, plus a clear view of salaries, supplies and administrative costs for the program.
Why it matters: Enrollment declines and budget choices drive staffing, capital planning and potential ballot measures. Trustees said they appreciated preliminary movement toward a balanced budget but asked administration for granular detail on revenue, vendor contracts and capital-priority spending before final votes.
Votes and procedure: The board accepted the disbursement report after questions and then proceeded with other agenda items. Administration said it will provide requested follow-up and data in upcoming meetings.