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District previews budget software rollout and cautious revenue outlook ahead of negotiations
Summary
District finance and HR leaders told the board preliminary budgets are targeted for May, new UNI budget software will deliver dashboards and three-year actuals, and staffing plans are close to completion ahead of bargaining — but leaders urged caution until state revenue is finalized on May 13.
Thompson School District finance staff told the board that preliminary budgets will be prepared in May and that a new budget software (UNI) is being deployed to improve transparency, dashboarding and the presentation of three years of actuals alongside proposed budgets.
"The budget software is not going to be done in time for us to approve the budget," finance director Zach Moer said, adding that staff are building budget templates now so the files can be uploaded into UNI when ready. He said the system will handle submissions for enhancements, redeployments and decreases and will enable public dashboards for items such as student–staff ratios.
Chief human resources officer Tiffany Rogers said staffing plans tied to building-level FTE adjustments are nearly complete; human resources is finalizing placements for non-probationary teachers impacted by enrollment-based reductions. The board asked for breakdowns by personnel group—especially 'administrative personnel' (AP)—and district staff agreed to provide position-group detail for the next executive session.
Moer urged caution about declaring budget certainty because the state budget and revenue projections will be finalized May 13. He said statewide K–12 funding had been presented in the legislature as an increase of about $184 million to $10.2 billion next year, but that local impacts depend on final state allocations and district enrollment.
The board scheduled an executive session next week to review bargaining strategy and asked staff to bring projections showing revenue, current reductions and what would remain for compensation discussions.
No final budget vote was taken; staff said they will return with staffing and revenue projections to inform negotiations.
