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Granite City CUSD 9 adopts roughly $111 million 2025–26 budget after public hearing
Summary
The Granite City Community Unit School District 9 board held a public hearing on Sept. 23 and adopted its proposed 2025–26 budget, citing an $859,000 increase in Evidence Based Funding and a $4 million contingency for athletic facility work while warning about state funding proration and wage pressures.
The Granite City Community Unit School District 9 Board of Education on Sept. 23 approved the district’s proposed 2025–26 budget, which projects about $111 million in expenditures and relies on a mix of Evidence Based Funding, corporate personal property replacement tax and local property taxes.
Zach Siri, the presenter, summarized the district’s revenue and spending outlook during a public hearing. "We saw an $859,000 increase in EBF," Siri said, noting the district’s current state adequacy figure at about 75.1 percent. He told the board CPPRT (corporate personal property replacement tax) held near $11–$12 million and that local tax revenue increased by roughly $3.6 million year over year.
Siri identified key planned capital items and contingencies: a high-school shingle roof charged to Fund 90, playground work at Grigsby and ProHart, redistricting-related renovations and a $4 million placeholder for baseball-field work and associated site work. He said the district moved about 1,500 student devices that had been paid with ESSER funds into the regular budget and that many costs are driven by salaries and benefits.
Siri cautioned the board about risks that could change the final numbers: possible EBF prorations, fluctuating CPPRT receipts, and categorical grant rates that are not keeping pace with inflation. He warned the board that maintaining competitive wages will be a continuing pressure through upcoming contract negotiations in 2027–28.
After closing the hearing and reconvening the regular meeting, the board moved to adopt the budget and to secure all necessary signatures. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with all members present recorded as "Aye."
Why it matters: the adopted budget sets district priorities for staffing, transportation and capital work, and it carries a contingency for a major athletic project that will affect Fund 20 and Fund 40 balances. District leaders said they aim to balance competitive wages with fiscal stability and will monitor state-level proration of categorical aid.
The board flagged next steps including contract negotiations beginning in 2027 and continued monitoring of state revenue signals that could require adjustments to expenditures or use of working-cash reserves.
