Monroe budget committee approves 2025–26 spending plan, sets permanent tax rate and bond levy

The Monroe School District budget committee approved the proposed 2025–26 budget and separately adopted a permanent tax rate and a levy for bond debt service following staff presentations and committee discussion.

At the start of the meeting, the chair read the committee’s role and responsibilities, and staff provided a budget message explaining the district’s revenue outlook. The presenter said state biennial funding appeared roughly steady but the district faces an enrollment decline of about 20 students, which the presenter summarized as “about a $200,000 hit” to revenue.

Staff outlined dedicated reserve accounts for facilities, textbooks and curriculum adoption, technology, and PERS obligations, and said the district maintains those accounts to manage recurring needs for aging buildings and equipment. The presenter told the committee the district was approved for a high-school seismic grant; "it's a $2,500,000 grant," staff said, and that award was included in the budget framework even though project work has not yet started.

Committee members reviewed multiple revenue streams and grant programs that feed the budget, including the Student Investment Account (SIA) and federal IDEA funds for special education. Staff said SIA dollars are being used in part to offset athletics fees to reduce economic barriers and noted a $25,000 transfer in the proposed budget along with a general-fund transfer for athletics of about $244,000. Staff also detailed planned expenditure assumptions used for budgeting: textbooks +3.5%; supplies +3–6%; technology +5–10%; utilities +5–10%; food +4–6%; insurance +18.5%; and transportation +2.5%.

Discussion touched on food service after the district moved to universal free meals, technology replacement timelines for Chromebooks and associated hardware costs, and rising liability insurance rates tied in part to wildfire-related claims. Staff said an earlier 20‑year bond will expire in 2027 and that similar financing had saved the district about $1 million over two decades, but market conditions for refinancing remain uncertain.

After discussion, the chair moved to approve the 2025–26 budget as read. In the motion the chair stated an amount of $15,866,639 and an unappropriated ending fund balance of $199,126, and cited a total budget figure read aloud by the mover. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The committee then approved a permanent tax rate of 4.6341 per $1,000 of assessed value for general-fund operations on a motion from staff and a second from the chair. Finally, the committee approved a tax levy for general-obligation bond debt service (staff announced the levy amount to be $457,160) by voice vote.

The committee concluded business after the votes; staff noted that some budget elements will be revised if state allocations change before final adoption and that the seismic grant work will be scheduled and scoped in subsequent steps.