Englewood board deadlocks over tentative 2026–27 budget after hours of debate

The Englewood Board of Education spent more than five hours debating the district’s tentative 2026–27 budget and failed to agree on a tax-levy increase that would set the board’s preliminary spending plan.

Board members traded sharp questions about staff reductions, program cuts and long-standing uses of the district’s fund balance. Several alternative motions — including proposals at 5.7 percent, 4.2 percent and 3.5 percent increases — were put to roll call and failed. After extended public comment and multiple amendments, one group of members moved to transmit a tentative budget at 2.5 percent while directing the administration to return with alternative sensitivity scenarios and a plan to align appropriations with board priorities. The meeting ended without a final consensus on a levy.

Why it matters: the tentative levy sets what the district will submit to the county superintendent as its preliminary budget. Administration cautioned that large fixed costs — rising medical premiums, increased energy and utility bills, and reduced state aid — leave little non-salary spending to cut without reducing staff or programs.

During the presentation, Business Administrator (BA) Mr. Steinmetz told the board the proposed total revenues matched the agenda line: approximately $86.1 million. He listed key pressures: an estimated $1.3 million drop in state aid, a medical/Rx increase of about 31.9 percent, and an anticipated utility increase. He estimated an average assessed homeowner’s tax impact of roughly $550 annually under the highest scenario discussed.

Board members who opposed larger levies argued they lacked sufficient time and appropriation detail to support a big increase. One public commenter, Howard Haughton, urged the board to adopt a smaller increase ("2 to 2½ percent") and direct administration to show what cuts or changes that would require.

The superintendent and BA repeatedly told the board that most non-salary lines had already been pared to the bone and that further reductions without cutting personnel would be difficult. The board attorney warned members about the statutory deadline for submitting a tentative budget and the possibility of heightened oversight if the district failed to comply, noting that the county superintendent can require remedial actions if a submitted budget would leave the district unable to provide a lawful education program.

What’s next: The board voted to ask administration to provide alternative budget scenarios and a concrete plan for appropriation revisions in short order so members can review options before the final vote. No final tentative levy was signed at the meeting; staff were directed to return with the requested analyses and to work with board leadership on next steps.