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Beloit School Board holds workshop to shape 2026–27 budget; examines OPEB, athletics and community partnerships
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Summary
At an April 14 workshop, the Beloit School Board reviewed staff survey results and asked administration to flesh out options — including limited use of OPEB, selling vacant properties, Fund 80 strategies and athletics co-ops — to balance the 2026–27 budget; trustees made no final funding decisions.
The Beloit School Board met in a special workshop on April 14 to give administration guidance for preparing the 2026–27 budget, review a staff survey on spending priorities and consider short- and long-term strategies to close a multi‑million‑dollar shortfall.
Board members framed the meeting as an opportunity to provide the superintendent and cabinet a list of priorities rather than to approve a final plan. Carol Fox, who drafted the recommended guidance, told trustees the district should ‘‘maintain existing pupil–teacher ratio guidelines, preserve staff retention and recruitment by providing the 2.63% CPI increase, and prioritize district programs and initiatives that help drive our student enrollment, like the academies model and the DLI programs’’ (Carol Fox, Board member).
Why it matters: Administrators said the district faces a projected multi‑million‑dollar gap over the coming years and asked for direction on whether to tap reserves, cut programs or pursue community revenue strategies. Trustees repeatedly said they wanted more specifics — enrollment trends, staffing plans and costed options — before authorizing one‑time reserve use such as OPEB.
Administration presented results from a staff survey of about 290 employees that asked respondents to pick the district’s top two priorities when making reductions. Staff most often prioritized maintaining student support services (156 responses), protecting classroom instruction (122) and retaining existing staff positions (114). The survey also showed strong support for cutting ‘‘nonessential spending such as travel and subscriptions’’ and reducing central-office costs and unfilled positions as primary budget saving strategies (Staff member, administration).
Trustees probed the district’s reserves. Administration reported an OPEB balance of roughly $4.6 million as of February and explained that moving OPEB funds into operations can affect state equalization aid unless expenditures are matched with actual costs. Director Elwood cautioned that both OPEB and fund balance are one‑time options: ‘‘Once you use either one of them, the funds are gone,’’ and using them could leave the district exposed in later years if enrollment declines continue (Elwood, Director).
Several board members, including Joanne Ruehl and Brian Nichols, said they preferred protecting OPEB and the general fund balance where possible but acknowledged a scenario might exist where limited use was necessary to avoid direct harms to students. Megan Miller urged the board to ask administration for discrete scenario analyses: one that uses neither OPEB nor fund balance, another that uses fund balance before OPEB, and clear estimates for how much would be needed this year versus next.
Athletics and Fund 80: Athletic director Dan Gratz told the board the athletic program is approximately $100,000 over budget for the current year and outlined a multi‑step plan to reduce costs. Options included reducing middle‑school athletics (estimated savings near $100,000), forming co‑ops with nearby districts, and using Fund 80 to subsidize community programs so fees would be lower for families. Gratz described co‑ops as plausible but time‑sensitive: some partnership decisions to affect next season would need exploration and approvals by May 1 (Dan Gratz, Director of Athletics and Activities).
Gratz said backfilling middle‑school sports through community partners would require initial Fund 80 investment and a coordinator to manage partnerships and liability issues. He urged trustees to weigh the short‑term savings against long‑term operational costs and community impacts.
Other agenda items: Trustees asked administration to prepare a packet of vacant properties the district owns — locations, estimated values and policy considerations — and to return with costed options for hiring in‑house legal counsel, restoring or creating a communications/community‑partnership role, and more detailed staffing plans tied to class‑size policy (Policy 3.43.2).
What the board decided: There were no final funding votes. The board unanimously approved routine procedural motions (agenda approval and later adjournment) but instead directed administrators to prepare detailed, costed scenarios and supporting documents for the regular board meeting the following Tuesday. Members emphasized community engagement and transparency — several said any referendum or use of reserves should be presented with a clear outreach plan.
The workshop recessed and reconvened virtually later the same evening; the board adjourned at 8:36 p.m. with instructions for administration to return with the requested data and proposals.
