Laramie County School District #1 adopts $566 million 2026-27 budget; board amends superintendent's contract

The Laramie County School District #1 board on Tuesday adopted its 2026-27 budget after a budget hearing and detailed presentation by the district's finance presenter, Mr. Ciccarelli. The board also approved a contract amendment for Superintendent Dr. Steven Newton, effective July 1, 2026.

Mr. Ciccarelli, who led the budget presentation, said the district's total budget request is approximately $566,000,000 for 2026-27, with the general fund making up about $281,200,000 of that total. "We budgeted about $250,100,000, and actual revenue came in about 249.7," he said, describing FY25-26 results that left the district roughly on target overall but with material shifts between revenue sources.

The presentation detailed drivers behind the numbers. Ciccarelli flagged a shortfall in mineral-based property tax collections that came in about $6.1 million below budget, partially offset by $1.2 million in higher non-mineral property taxes. He said the district expects a state tax shortfall payment of roughly $3.0 million this fall tied to recalibration work under Senate File 81. On expenditures, FY25-26 general fund expenses were reported near $248.6 million and the budgetary general fund balance was projected near $43.2 million.

Enrollment trends were a major focus. Ciccarelli cited average daily membership (ADM) declines that reduced the district's funded student count from roughly 13,633 in 2021-22 to a projected ~12,036 for 2026-27. He said a two-year rolling average under Senate File 81 reduces funded ADM relative to the former three-year method and estimated that the district's adjusted ADM for funding purposes would be about 12,591 (versus a hypothetical 12,691 under the old approach), affecting revenues by approximately 100 ADM or on the order of $1 million depending on grade bands.

Staff costs were the single largest budget driver for 2026-27, Ciccarelli said, calling for about a $25 million increase over the prior year to reflect funding-model adjustments, collective-bargaining commitments and rising health-insurance premiums. To help accommodate those pressures, he said department budgets were reduced on average about 10% and school-level budgets about 5%, and some capital reimbursements (for example bus reimbursements) were used to alleviate general-fund pressure.

Ciccarelli also discussed enterprise funds and special categories. The nutrition services fund served about 486,000 breakfasts and just over 1,100,000 lunches last year; he reported food-cost increases of roughly 10.4% for breakfast and about 38% for lunch and included an appropriation request for up to $2,000,000 in general-fund transfers to support nutrition services. The presentation described a new internal service fund to account for the district's self-funded health plan and noted the district is close to fully funding two post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities.

During the board's vote on the budget, Trustee Claussen thanked staff but said they would vote no based on differences of opinion about allocation priorities. "I will be voting no on the budget tonight," Claussen said. After verbal ayes and nays, the board approved the budget.

Separately, the board approved a contract amendment for Dr. Steven Newton, superintendent of Laramie County School District #1, effective July 1, 2026. A board member moved to approve the amendment and the motion passed after a second and the board's verbal vote.

The board scheduled its next regular meeting for Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, beginning with an executive session at 4 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6 p.m. The board then moved into executive session to discuss possible long-term suspensions, expulsions, personnel and legal advice.

Votes at a glance: The board adopted the 2026-27 budget (motion moved and seconded; verbal aye/no recorded; detailed roll-call not recorded in the transcript) and approved the superintendent's contract amendment (motion moved and seconded; verbal aye/no recorded).