St. Joseph officials outline FY27 $4.2M shortfall and propose levy-transfer option
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Summary
At a St. Joseph School District work session, staff projected a potential $4.2 million deficit by FY2027 and floated shifting debt-service levy dollars into operations (example: 10¢ ≈ $1.3M) and other cost-saving measures, including program adjustments to early learning and partnerships to reduce transportation costs.
Staff at a St. Joseph School District work session on an agenda item about the district guide and capital projects said the district faces mounting budget pressure and projected a potential $4.2 million shortfall by fiscal year 2027. The district’s presenter told the group a combination of lower state revenue projections and rising costs — including health-insurance increases cited by neighboring districts — are squeezing the operating budget.
Why it matters: District leaders said staffing makes up about three-quarters of spending, and they emphasized that cuts to academic positions would be a last resort. To close gaps, staff proposed both near-term and ballot options that would not increase the overall tax rate but would reallocate where tax dollars are counted.
At the meeting the presenter described one technical ballot option: a debt-service-to-operational levy transfer. Using audited figures discussed at the session, staff said each 10¢ moved from debt service to operations would generate roughly $1.3 million; moving 20¢ would generate about $2.6 million. “So if we move 10¢ over from debt service to operational, it’ll be $1,300,000,” the presenter explained when walking the group through sample math.
Committee members pressed staff on program-specific drivers of the shortfall. One committee member noted the early learning program ran at a reported loss (discussed as about $2.4 million this year) and asked whether the district had missed reimbursements for pre-K meals; staff confirmed the program provided free lunches to all pre-K students without collecting meal-application paperwork required for federal reimbursement. That choice increased costs in the short term but was presented as a service decision.
Staff and board members discussed alternatives to outright cuts, including switching some early-learning classrooms to half-day schedules to protect positions required for special-education services and expanding community partnerships — for example, continuing to use the YMCA’s aftercare program at some sites to lower district operating costs for childcare.
The discussion also reviewed discrete savings line items that would together help narrow the shortfall: transportation reductions (staff estimated transportation savings at about $200,000) and a snacks line near $40,000. Staff urged the committee to consider targeted reductions in extras and nonacademic spending before reducing instructional staff, noting “75% of our budget is staffing.”
Next steps: Staff said they will continue to refine projections ahead of budget hearings and planned to bring specific ballot language options and any requests to the board in May. The presenter cautioned that levy-transfer ballot language can read like a tax increase to voters unless the explanatory materials are clear; voter approval (50% + 1) would be required for a transfer.
Sources: Comments attributed to the presenter (staff member) and multiple committee members at the St. Joseph School District work session. The meeting discussed audited-assessed-valuation figures and staff-provided sample calculations for levy-transfer examples.
