Centennial School District adopts 2026-27 budget with 3.5% tax increase, reduces projected deficit to $2.8M

The Centennial School District Board of School Directors approved the district's final 2026-27 general fund budget on June 23, adopting a 3.5% real-estate tax increase as part of a plan the administration says will reduce the district's projected deficit.

Administration and the finance committee outlined five initiatives that together trimmed forecasted expenditures by $3.9 million, exceeding the year-one target the board set in December. Thomas Greenwood, the district's finance lead, told the board the reductions brought the preliminary $7 million deficit down to a $2.8 million shortfall in the final proposed budget. The agenda packet listed total general fund expenses of $157,263,961 and revenues of $154,466,891.

The budget process began in October and included a series of finance-committee reviews, community outreach sessions at schools and a new online financial dashboard, officials said. Greenwood described the principal initiatives as: transferring certain entities to reunite students with classrooms, adopting zero-based budgeting, adjusting scheduling and staffing, offering a retirement incentive and strengthening financial rigor and revenue recovery efforts.

Board members pressed administration about the remaining gap and the risk of relying on fund balance. Several members praised the multi-month effort but reminded colleagues that the $2.8 million shortfall remains a constraint on discretionary spending. One board member emphasized that personnel and program requests in the coming year should reflect the deficit reduction plan.

The board approved related fund actions on the consent agenda, including capital, debt service and cafeteria budgets and authorization for the business administrator to close the 2025-26 books and make necessary intra-fund transfers subject to ratification. The formal motion to adopt the 2026-27 final budget passed as recorded in the transcript.