Caldwell School District adopts balanced $44.7 million general fund, $65.6 million all-funds budget for 2026'27

The Caldwell School District Board of Trustees voted June 15 to adopt a balanced $44,651,772 general fund budget for fiscal 2027 and a $65,557,211 all-funds budget after a presentation by district staff on enrollment and funding pressures.

Zach Wagner, who presented the budget, told trustees the district is projecting enrollment of 4,722 students for the 2026'27 school year. "That represents the projected enrollment for next school year," Wagner said, noting the enrollment figure is the basis for state funding and staffing allocations.

Wagner said the district is forecasting about $33,000,000 in state-based support for 2027, a decline of roughly $3,000,000 compared with fiscal year 2024. He warned the funding drop and rising costs are shaping operational choices in the proposed budget.

To control health-insurance costs, the district plans to raise the individual deductible on its standard PPO plan from $1,500 to $3,000. Wagner said that step helped reduce an initial projected plan-cost increase of about 20% to roughly 10%, and that the district will absorb the increase rather than pass it on to employees. "By raising that deductible from 1,500 to 3,000, we were able to reduce ... the increase in half," he said.

Wagner also told the board that 28 vacated positions will not be refilled this budget cycle, producing approximately $1,400,000 in salary savings. He described those savings as one component of balancing the general fund.

The adopted general fund expenditure budget of $44,651,772 is a reduction of about $1.8 million from the prior year, with roughly 76 cents of every budgeted dollar going to salaries and benefits. The district's grand total across all funds is $65,557,211, Wagner said, with about 65% of that total coming from state revenue, 16% from federal sources and fund balance contributing approximately 6%.

During questioning trustees asked about the district's reserve. Wagner said the fund balance stands at about 20% of annual expenditures and is intended to cover unanticipated events. He also said detailed line-item breakdowns are in progress and staff expect to submit required information to the state by the July 15 deadline.

Trustee Godina moved to approve the budget as presented; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair declared the motion carries.

What happens next: staff will finalize and file required budget documents with the state by July 15 and continue work on detailed line-item budgets and the annual audit process. The fiscal year closes June 30 and the district expects an outside certified public accounting firm to perform the annual audit.