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Wauwatosa board previews 2026–27 budget, projects modest operating surplus amid a large prior-year chargeback
Summary
District officials presented a preliminary 2026–27 budget that forecasts a roughly $400,000 operating surplus while noting a roughly $3.5 million one-time property-tax chargeback tied to a prior settlement will affect fund balance timing.
The Wauwatosa School District Board of Education received a preliminary look at the 2026–27 budget on June 8, with district finance staff projecting an operating surplus of about $400,000 for the coming year while warning of a large, one-time adjustment carried over from a prior settlement.
Finance staff told trustees the district will repay approximately $3.5 million to the city after a settlement with a business identified in the record as “Freigher,” a repayment that stems from a reassessment and affects prior-year tax collections. The repayment is treated as a one-time chargeback; staff said the district expects that on the following year’s tax roll some of that amount can be recollected and that the district is budgeting to rebuild fund balance toward a target the board has discussed (roughly 15%).
“Every school district must begin its budget year before final revenue figures are known,” a district presenter said, explaining that state aid and final enrollment counts arrive later in the calendar. The district’s revenue mix is primarily local property taxes (about 60%), state sources (about 24%), federal (approximately 2%) and other revenue (about 16%), the presentation said. Salaries and benefits are the largest expense category at roughly 76% of the budget.
Trustees heard that recent strategic decisions — including a pay increase that raised teacher pay about 5.2% this year — helped close prior shortfalls but may change state-aid calculations. The presenter said the district conservatively modeled a statutory maximum decrease in state aid; if state aid declines, property-tax revenue would shift to cover some of that change rather than representing an absolute drop in total revenue.
The board was reminded that a preliminary budget must be approved on June 22 for publication ahead of the statutory July 20 budget hearing and that final budget decisions follow the third-Friday student-count and state October aid calculations.
The district encouraged the public to view the recorded earlier budget workshop and attend the July 20 hearing for a fuller review of assumptions and line-item details.
Next steps: the board will vote to publish a preliminary budget June 22 and hold the formal budget hearing July 20.
