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Farmington previews 2026–27 budget, projects roughly $1.8M surplus amid enrollment decline
Summary
Finance Director Huska told the board the district projects about $105 million in revenue and $103 million in expenditures for 2026–27, leaving roughly $1.8 million more in fund balances; she cited a projected enrollment of 5,930 and noted state funding changes that partly narrow a larger funding gap.
Finance Director Huska presented the Farmington Public School District's preliminary 2026–27 budget at the work session, saying the district expects roughly $105 million in revenue and about $103 million in expenditures, which would leave approximately $1.8 million more in fund balance than the current projection.
Huska said the state retained an inflationary factor in the general-education formula (a 2.69% increase, about $200 per pupil) and that lawmakers added $10 million to the compensatory-revenue formula as a short-term measure. She warned these actions do not fully close inequities in the funding formula and said a task force will continue work on longer-term changes.
"We are currently projecting that our enrollment for 26–27 is going to be 5,930," Huska said, noting that enrollment is down roughly 1,300 students from the district's high point. She illustrated that if the general-education formula had tracked inflation year over year, the district would receive roughly $8.7 million more—equivalent, she said, to about 87 teaching FTE.
On fund balances, Huska said the district's policy targets an unassigned fund balance of 8–12%; at the end of FY24/25 the unassigned balance was about 10.7%, and projections show a small decrease (about $300,000) in that percentage for 2026–27. Huska also identified key fund-level changes: modest increases in student-activity accounts, a projected OPEB residual of roughly $1.6 million by 2027 (with levy implications), declining community-education revenue tied to program participation, and a shrinking food-service fund balance as statutory guidance returns fund-balance allowance to pre-COVID norms.
Board members asked for historical context on the fund-balance policy and for more detailed modeling of tax impacts tied to future levy or bonding decisions. Huska said the final budget will be presented at the board's June meeting to meet the statutory July 1 deadline.
The work session discussion was technical and forward-looking; no final budget vote occurred at the session.
