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Upper Adams SD finance briefing: roughly $2 million gap, staff propose using assigned funds and grant offsets
Summary
District finance staff told the committee that preliminary FY26 revenue projections show about a $2 million shortfall and proposed a mix of assigned funds (medical, technology), use of grant dollars and possible tax options to cover it; board-level decisions and state homestead/farmstead figures remain outstanding.
District finance staff presented a detailed revenue briefing showing projected local, state and federal receipts and outlined options to cover a preliminary roughly $2 million shortfall for fiscal year 2026.
The finance presenter (Shelly) told the committee the district projects the bulk of revenue comes from local taxes (about 53%), with state and federal sources making up the remainder. She warned that, “right now as of today we’re looking at about $2 million deficit,” and walked trustees through potential coverage strategies including transferring $125,000 from an assigned medical fund, using technology-assigned funds for planned iPad purchases, and drawing a mix (example scenario: 60% assigned debt fund/40% unassigned fund balance) to maintain board policy targets for unassigned reserves.
Staff also highlighted an $842,000 Ready-to-Learn block grant the district expects and said that, if received and applied to the curriculum purchases already under discussion, it could reduce the gap substantially. Finance staff cautioned that the grant is one-time and must be spent on allowable items; they recommended fiscal prudence and reminded trustees that some items (consumables, kit replacements) will require recurring budget planning.
The presenter reviewed other revenue lines (earned income tax trends, transfer taxes, transportation reimbursement and state allocations) and noted uncertainties in vocational and charter reimbursements under the governor’s proposed budget. The committee discussed whether to budget conservatively and whether to include a possible tax increase in the preliminary budget; staff said a 1% tax increase would generate roughly $130,000 in additional revenue.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about the homestead/farmstead state credit and its effect on local tax bills; staff showed historical homestead/farmstead amounts (average ~$410 per qualifying homeowner this year) and noted roughly 70–75% of homeowners in the district qualify. Dr. Bell then addressed federal funding, saying the district had no current indication of federal fund reductions.
No formal budget adoption occurred at the committee. Staff will bring a preliminary budget for board action later in the spring and recommended follow-up discussions in May before the June final budget vote.
