Jackson Public School District reports tighter finances, $10.5 million shortfall year-to-date

The Jackson Public School District told its board on May 19 that the district’s general fund balance stood at about $12.5 million as of April 30, 2026, and that revenues have trailed expenditures by roughly $10.5 million year-to-date. Ms. Perdel, presenting the monthly financial report, said the district had collected about $286.8 million of a $367.8 million total revenue budget, or about 78 percent.

Perdel said district expenditures for the fiscal year totaled about $204.1 million of an anticipated $229.9 million (about 88.8 percent). She told the board the comparison reflects higher personnel and benefits costs, including required step-and-grade increases for certified staff, and timing issues with federal grant drawdowns. "We did request a little over $3 million this month," she said, noting pending reimbursements and anticipated federal grant revisions of roughly $2.5 million.

The financial presentation included separate fund details: the 16th-section revenue was reported at about 77.5 percent of budget with approximately $900,000 collected; the child-nutrition fund balance was approximately $6.7 million. Perdel said the district’s ending cash balance for April was about $19.2 million compared with $20.5 million in April 2025.

Board members asked staff to keep probing individual vendor and intervention-level effectiveness so that limited resources are channeled into strategies that improve classroom outcomes. One board member pressed for specificity: "...how are we spending our money? How are we helping these kids with this money?" Perdel and other administrators said they will continue to reconcile timing differences on federal draws and report back.

The board voted to approve the monthly financial report without recorded opposition.