Goshen County School Board approves amended FY26 and FY27 budgets, mills and $2.2 million computer purchase

The Goshen County School District No. 1 board on July 14 approved multiple fiscal items, including an amended FY26 budget, the FY27 preliminary budget, mill levies and a $2.2 million purchase of replacement student computers.

Business officer Miss Cates presented the amended FY26 budget and the FY27 preliminary budget. She said the FY26 amendment reflects additional revenue and reclassifications, with a $345,000 net increase in the general fund (including a $100,000 tuition increase line and an offsetting $100,000 decrease in building-services operating costs after an insurance premium came in lower than projected). She also described transfers out (about $245,000) to cover CAPCOM and food-service needs and minor recategorizations in special-revenue funds. The board approved the amended FY26 budget by voice vote.

On the FY27 budget, Miss Cates said the district is budgeting a $3.1 million retirement reimbursement following state recalibration (reimbursement moved from about 2.25 percent to 15.19 percent of salaries) and projects $40,333,000 in revenue. She told trustees the district anticipates using about $300,000 of cash reserves (estimated at $4.41 million, or 15.3 percent of the foundation guarantee) rather than a larger draw previously forecast. The proposed FY27 budget includes a $1.6 million HVAC project at Lingle High School, a $260,000 dual-enrollment line and retained funding for staff added through an expiring mental-health grant. Trustees asked clarifying questions about recalibration and special-education reimbursements; the board approved the FY27 budget by voice vote.

Trustees also approved mill levies required for 2026-27 (a 1.0-mill recreation levy, a 0.5-mill BOCES levy and a 2.5-mill operational levy) and set district out-of-district tuition for 2026-27 at $23,419. Miss Cates clarified the tuition figure is set by Wyoming statute using prior-year operating costs divided by average daily membership and applies only to students enrolling from outside Goshen County.

On procurement and contracts, the board approved a $2,201,432.90 purchase of replacement student computers as part of the district's five-year refresh cycle. Trustees discussed device distribution to third grade, noting state expectations that computer-science instruction occur at lower grades; administrators said devices are typically kept at school and are sent home only in limited cases such as virtual-attendance days. The board also approved vendor contracts and renewals including Frontline Education (help-desk and asset-management modules), license renewals with Zurn, Edmentum and Renaissance, a six-year McGraw Hill StudySync digital subscription (a $106,000 commitment), and a lease renewal with Eastern Wyoming College for Platte River High School space.

Other approved contracts included Soliant Health LLC for specialized student vision services (not to exceed $25,080), an individual counseling contract for a named student (student #4515), and an intergovernmental agreement to provide a halftime school-resource officer to Southeast Schools in LaGrange. The board approved professional-development contracts with Crafted Consulting LLC and Franklin Covey Education.

The meeting record shows these items were presented with staff explanations, brief trustee questioning and then approved by voice vote. Miss Cates and administrators said the budgets were prepared with recalibration guidance still evolving from state education officials and that some amounts (for example, dual-enrollment allocations) may be adjusted as state rules and allocations are finalized.

The board will next meet Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m.