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Centennial SD presents proposed final budget after $7M gap cut in half; board to advertise 3.5% Act 1 increase
Summary
Centennial School District budget presenters said mitigation strategies have cut a February $7 million deficit roughly in half to a proposed $3.5 million shortfall; the board approved posting the proposed final 2026–27 budget, including a full Act 1 tax index increase of 3.5%, with final adoption slated for June 23.
Centennial School District officials told the Committee of the Whole on May 26 that intensive budget work and five mitigation strategies have reduced a projected $7 million deficit to a proposed $3.5 million shortfall for 2026–27.
"The $7,000,000 deficit we talked about in February has been cut in half through the efforts of those initiatives and the efforts of my colleagues," the district's budget presenter said, summarizing the district's work on transfer of entity, zero‑based budgeting, strategic staffing and scheduling, a retirement incentive and tighter medical billing practices. He said the proposed final budget includes a full 3.5% Act 1 tax index increase.
The presenter said the district expects additional savings from a retirement incentive that could yield between $1 million and $1.3 million, further reducing the deficit to an estimated $2.2–$2.5 million depending on final uptake. He also described outreach measures: school‑level budget meetings, a public letter and a financial dashboard posted to the district website for year‑to‑date revenues, expenses and projections.
Finance chair Mrs. Krieger emphasized that many cost pressures are driven by state mandates and special education costs. "To understand the scope of that means that with ... special ed students, it costs the taxpayers an additional ... per student per year," she said while noting the district is seeking internal efficiencies and vendor consolidation to reduce non‑salary spending.
Board members voted to authorize display and advertising of the proposed final budget in accordance with Act 1; the board will consider final adoption at its June meeting. District leaders said the retirement incentive will be finalized June 13 and the board will seek approval of the final budget on June 23.
What happens next: the district will post the proposed final budget and financial dashboard, finalize the retirement incentive in mid‑June and return to the board on June 23 for final adoption.
