Grants Pass SD 7 budget committee approves $141.3 million budget, adds $350,000 for elementary behavior classroom

The Grants Pass School District 7 budget committee voted to approve a $141,296,977 budget for fiscal year 2025'26 after amending the proposed plan to add $350,000 for an elementary behavior classroom. The committee adopted the budget by voice vote following extended presentations on revenue assumptions, staffing reductions and contingency planning.

The budget committee approved the aggregate amount after the superintendent and finance staff described the district's assumptions and trade-offs. Superintendent Tim Sweeney noted corrections to the printed materials at the start of his message — staffing reductions were updated from 24 to 29 and an apparent payroll-variance figure was corrected to a negative $233,618 — and said the proposed budget was built on a biennial state school fund assumption of $11.4 billion. "We are presenting a balanced budget for the 2025'26 school year that takes into account an increased need for behavioral support," Sweeney said in his prepared remarks.

Sam Stegmiller, the district's director of finance, walked the committee through how the state school fund and weighted ADM (ADMW) calculations factor into revenue projections, explaining that the district used an ADMW of 6,592 for planning and that state weights cap special-education weighting at 11 percent while the district's SPED population exceeds that level. He cautioned that adjustments to the state forecast could still change final figures and said the district expects some updates in mid-June.

A primary point of debate was how to balance investments in student support against the risk of reduced reserves if state or federal funding falls. The proposed budget included a $1,000,000 contingency and modeled deficit spending of about $2,000,000 that administration said could be reduced effectively to $1,000,000 depending on how contingency is treated. Administrators said they expect to reach break-even by the end of the 2026'27 biennium.

Danny Candola, introduced in the meeting as director of personalized learning, asked the committee to permit targeted deficit spending to expand behavioral supports. Candola said the budget already includes $380,000 for an elementary behavior-type program and asked the committee to authorize an additional classroom to help more students "regulate," a move he said would align with the district's strategic plan and support reading and graduation goals.

Board member Gary Richardson moved to add $350,000 to the budget to create an additional elementary behavior classroom, proposing the money be taken from contingency; Julia Long moved to approve the proposed budget and amended her motion to include Richardson's $350,000 request. Supporters said the additional slot would reach many more students indirectly and would accelerate a plan administrators said could be implemented quickly. Opponents warned that reducing contingency carries risk if major state or federal funding changes occur between now and the budget adoption.

After the amendment, the committee adopted the resolution approving the proposed budget in the aggregate amount of $141,296,977 and noting the permanent tax rate in the resolution. The final vote was taken by voice after the resolution was read aloud; the motion passed with at least one voiced opposition.

What the budget does and does not do: it funds a projected beginning general-fund balance of approximately $9.2 million, maintains a board target of a 5 percent ending fund balance, increases a contingency to $1,000,000 in the printed proposal (later reduced to fund the $350,000 addition), incorporates debt restructuring proceeds for capital projects (including roughly $7.38 million of identified high-priority capital expenditures), and moves forward several behavioral supports and pilot programs the administration described as aligned with the strategic plan.

The committee directed staff to finalize the adopted budget document and noted there is an adoption meeting scheduled in the board calendar if additional adjustments are needed. Administrators committed to follow up on several questions raised during the session, including (1) the cause for an apparent drop in reported ELL counts and (2) details on which positions were cuts by attrition versus active layoff notices. "If you have questions about the proposed budget, you can submit them on a blue card or in the online comments," Sweeney told attendees when the meeting opened.

The committee also handled several procedural items earlier in the session: Aaron Smith was elected presiding officer of the budget committee and members adopted Robert's Rules of Order as the committee's operating procedures.

Next steps: staff will prepare the adopted budget document for signature and posting; the administration said it will monitor state school fund updates expected in mid-June and will return to the committee if material changes require further action.