Budget committee approves Pleasant Hill SD 1’s $33.6 million spending plan and asks board to review an early-literacy position

The Pleasant Hill School District budget committee approved the district’s 2025–26 proposed budget on a series of motions after a daylong review of revenues, staffing and capital plans.

Mike Elk, presenting the budget message, said the proposed plan emphasizes "literacy, instructional excellence, facility upgrades and student support," and listed totals included in the package: a $22,750,293 general fund and $33,616,282 for all funds. The committee discussed state revenue forecasts, a roughly 10% reduction in Title I funding tied to updated census eligibility, and several reimbursable capital projects that require upfront local spending.

Why it matters: committee members were weighing competing priorities — investments in literacy and student services on the one hand and conservative reserve management and long-term capital commitments on the other. The committee approved the budget as proposed and also approved the property-tax and debt service levies reported during the meeting.

During deliberations, members pressed staff for clarifications about transfers and reimbursements tied to a seismic grant. Presenter remarks explained the district will seek monthly reimbursement for grant-eligible capital work; the reimbursements flow into the designated reserve account and cannot be spent outside that fund without a formal transfer.

Several committee members and public commenters pressed the committee to add a temporary literacy teacher during a multi-year transition to a new structured literacy model and the hire of an instructional coach. Committee members voiced differing views about whether approving an additional recurring FTE belongs in the budget-committee decision or should be left to the governing board.

To bridge those positions, the committee approved three actions: (1) adopt the 2025–26 budget and appropriations (all funds $33,616,282; general fund $22,750,293); (2) approve the district’s property-tax levy and debt-service levy as presented; and (3) instruct district staff to present a proposal for one early-literacy 1.0 FTE to the governing board, and grant the board authority to make a budget adjustment to add that position if it deems it necessary without changing the adopted tax rate. Committee members said the third motion preserves the budget committee’s recommended totals while allowing the board to make a staffing decision after additional review and public comment.

Quotable: "The 25–26 budget reflects a total of $22,750,293 for the general fund and $33,616,282 for all funds," Mike Elk said during the presentation. A majority of committee members said the proposed budget was fiscally conservative while enabling targeted investments.

What’s next: staff will present the early-literacy staffing proposal to the full board during its budget-adoption process; the district also scheduled additional public hearings and board meetings tied to final adoption and any board-level adjustments.