Wayne board warns of $7.1 million budget gap; proposes fees, program cuts and staffing reductions

The Wayne Board of Education received a blunt budget update on March 20 in which administrators said the district faces a roughly $7.1 million gap that will require program fee changes, cancellation of nonessential subscriptions and staffing reductions.

"As of March 6, our budget gap was about $7.1 million," Superintendent Dr. Tobach said during a presentation on the district's budget outlook, warning that the shortfall will grow in future years without changes to revenue or spending. Business administrator Bill Moffett explained the mechanics behind the figures and walked the board through revenue assumptions and hard cost increases.

The administration submitted a tentative 2025–26 budget to the county office that shows a net operating budget of about $194.5 million and a tentative total budget of roughly $197.8 million; the tax levy was shown rising from about $171.6 million to $176.0 million (a 2.54% increase). Moffett said the district's fund balance and reserves were "about $9 million" on the presentation slide but cautioned that reserves are not growing and recent withdrawals have been used for roofing and site work.

Officials called out several quantifiable cost pressures that contributed to the shortfall: a PCTI tuition adjustment of roughly $656,000; electricity and utilities up about 15% (roughly $335,000); a near $1 million increase in salary-and-benefit costs; property and casualty insurance up about 10% (about $177,000); and other contractual or mandated increases. Moffett also noted a projected increase in formula state aid of about $739,000, which remains subject to final state budget action.

To close the gap, the administration outlined a mix of revenue-generation and expense-reduction steps under consideration or already planned: privatizing before- and after-care programs; instituting "pay-to-play" fees for athletics and some extracurricular activities; charging user fees for outside groups using district facilities; cancelling approximately $200,000 in software subscriptions identified as outside the core mission; and replacing the current Wayne Police Department contract for class-3 officers and resource officers (currently described as about $1.2–$2.0 million) with an in‑house security program.

"We had to reduce the budget by $7 million," Dr. Tobach said, framing the proposals as difficult but necessary choices. He stressed the district's priority is to protect classroom instruction where possible; the administration said the employment actions being considered start at the district office and administrative levels and include not filling certain vacancies.

Personnel consequences described by the administration include approximately 40 reductions in force, not replacing roughly 18 retirees, several administrative and support position reductions, and about a dozen instructional position reductions. The board was told there are also a handful of current vacancies that will remain unfilled as part of the plan.

Public comment on the budget included community members who thanked the administration for prior fiscal stewardship while urging the board to make tough choices. Kathy Kuzanne, who spoke during the budget public-input period, praised the district's grant-seeking and fiscal-management work and urged trustees to "make the right choices."

The county office will review the submitted tentative budget during April; the board scheduled the final public hearing and adoption vote for May 1. Moffett emphasized the budget remains subject to change until county and state review conclude.

Actions taken that evening included moving the full agenda as one vote and approval of the tentative budget for submission; a roll call recorded one specific no vote related to an emergent human-resources item but the overall motion to adopt the agenda carried. The board will return on May 1 for the required hearing and adoption vote on the final budget.