Mars Area SD board approves $69.79 million 2026–27 general fund budget, uses $943,000 of fund balance

The Mars Area School District board voted to approve a proposed $69,790,060 general fund budget for the 2026–27 school year after a presentation from the district’s finance presenter, Debbie Graham. The board’s preliminary approval allows the district to post the budget for the required 30-day public inspection period before final action in June.

Graham told the board the budget projects $68,800,000 in revenue and will use $943,000 of fund balance to close the gap: “we would be using $943,000 of fund balance to balance the budget.” She said planned expenditures include $38,417,000 for instruction, $21,500,000 for support services and roughly $8,000,000 in interfund transfers, producing a total expenditure figure of $69,790,060.

Board members pressed for detail on the drivers of the increase, and Graham pointed to staffing and benefit costs. Salaries are budgeted at $28,300,000 — a $1,124,000 (4.1%) increase — that reflects 17 retirements and 14 new positions the district plans to fund, including eight classroom teachers, a counselor/LPC, a nurse, an elementary assistant principal, an evening custodial supervisor, a behavior specialist and a school police officer. Employee benefits were set at $20,000,000, an $1,600,000 increase driven in part by a 12.46% jump in health insurance rates; Graham provided annual premium figures, saying family coverage will cost $31,544 a year and individual coverage $10,730.

The district’s purchased services and tuition lines also changed: the presentation listed a roughly $2,000,000 professional/technical services line that includes special-education related services, substitute staffing and cyber academy fees, and transportation and tuition together account for the largest purchaser services outlays (student transportation cited near $4,000,000, tuition about $2,600,000). Graham also described a change in the way cyber-charter tuition is calculated under the school code, which she said reduced the district’s payments this year.

Graham reviewed fund balance and reserves. The district began the fiscal year with about $10.8 million in fund balance and is projected to end the year with roughly $11.16 million; $4.5 million is assigned for capital improvements and the unassigned fund balance would remain near 7.3% (below the district’s 8% threshold) after using $943,000 to balance the 2026–27 general fund.

Board members asked how debt service and retirement costs compare to other districts and sought assurance the district could pause hiring if state funding did not materialize. Graham acknowledged timing risk in the state budget process but said the state numbers she used were those currently posted; she said the supplement/adequacy funding being discussed is treated like a grant and requires documentation on spending. One director expressed concern that the state budget’s late approval in previous years had compressed the district’s timeline. The board approved the proposed budget in a roll call vote; the chair announced the motion carried with one member absent.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the preliminary 2026–27 general fund budget as presented (motion carried; roll call vote, motion mover recorded as Kevin Simmons with a second by Mike; tally announced as carried with one absent). The meeting record also shows routine personnel items, policies 1 and 2, and several buildings-and-grounds change-order items were approved by voice vote during the same session.

The board’s approval tonight is preliminary to the formal June adoption; the district must make the proposed budget available for 30 days of public inspection and advertise before final action. The meeting adjourned following routine business.