USD 383 staff outline FY27 budget process, highlight a 23% health-insurance projection and payroll change

Andy, speaking for district financial staff, walked the board through the budget-development timeline, support meetings with schools and departments, and key implementation priorities for fiscal year 2027. He emphasized that the district’s approach is collaborative — support meetings with building leaders, HR and central services are used to identify needs, align them with strategic goals, and translate those needs into cost projections.

Key figures and operational items: Andy said base state aid is expected to rise about 2.97 ("from the 5,615 to the 5,782" per the staff presentation), and the district is using an illustrative inflation factor of about 3.4 percent. He told the board the district’s initial projection for health‑insurance costs is roughly 23 percent, which staff will continue to refine with the insurance provider. Among planned operational changes, staff are preparing to implement a biweekly payroll schedule (26 pays per year), upgrade security systems across buildings, finalize a capital outlay plan through 2045, and phase in online forms to streamline administrative requests.

Why it matters: The health-insurance projection and the end-to-end budgeting choices will affect personnel costs and discretionary allocations at the building level. Andy said discretionary funds (at-risk and Title I set-asides) are increasingly used for staffing (interventionists, supports) rather than solely for professional development, and the budget discussions aim to balance those demands.

Next steps: Staff will continue school-level support meetings through the summer, finalize capital and security plans, and present detailed proposed budget figures to the board for formal adoption in early September. Board members asked for follow-up figures on property/liability insurance increases; Andy said a more precise estimate would be available at a future meeting.