Hartland-Lakeside J3 board approves preliminary 2026–27 budget framework, flags possible 6.5% levy increase

The Hartland-Lakeside J3 School District board approved a preliminary 2026–27 budget framework that allows district operations to continue while staff refine figures ahead of a final budget vote in October. The board approved the motion to adopt the preliminary draft following a presentation from Superintendent Patrick.

Patrick told trustees the draft uses the district’s full revenue-limit authority and is intentionally conservative on enrollment and open-enrollment projections. He said the proposal assumes roughly 2% growth in equalized value, a modest net negative on open enrollment for planning purposes, and higher private-voucher and health-insurance costs. “I will be very transparent throughout the process,” Patrick said, adding that the final budget will reflect updated numbers later in the cycle.

Why it matters: state equalization aid is declining as the district’s tax base grows, shifting more of the funding burden to local taxpayers. Patrick described how equalization aid’s share of the revenue limit dropped from roughly 36% two years ago to about 29% now, and said that trend drives the need to plan conservatively.

Key figures and assumptions from the presentation: operating checking near $344,000; Fund 10 savings approximately $6.95 million; capital improvement savings roughly $1.79 million; projected operating fund balance near 33–38% of operating budget; an illustrative levy increase of about 6.52% under the draft; and a projected mill rate of about $3.52 per $1,000 if the draft assumptions hold. The superintendent also noted a projected ~8% rise in salary and benefit costs when combining step increases and new positions, and a health-insurance increase in the mid-teens percent range mitigated in part by a family-advantage plan expected to save about $150,000.

Revenue drivers discussed included student counts (“bus and seats”), open enrollment (the single largest opportunity to increase local revenue if the district is net positive), and trailing special-education reimbursements that raise Fund 27 revenue and expense projections. Patrick said special-education aid is projected to increase on a dollar-for-dollar basis and raised the reimbursement percentage figure used for planning.

Board members pressed for options. One trustee asked for multiple scenarios showing trade-offs if the board chose to tax below full authority; Patrick said staff will present those scenarios when more data—especially updated enrollment and tax-base figures—are available later in the summer and into the fall. He emphasized the preliminary budget does not bind the board to the draft’s full-revenue approach when the final budget comes forward.

What happens next: the board approved the preliminary budget by voice vote to allow the district to continue operating under the new fiscal year. Staff will return with scenario analyses and updated enrollment and revenue projections before the October final-budget vote.

Sources: superintendent presentation and board discussion during the June meeting. The board also adopted related monthly financial reports during the same meeting.