District finance presenter says unaudited 2025–26 results landed in 'green' after savings

District finance staff presented unaudited 2025–26 budget results at the July 22 board meeting, saying the district finished the year in a stronger position than it had budgeted.

Doug (S13), introduced by the superintendent to present the numbers, summarized the multi-fund results and highlighted several line items that produced a better-than-expected outcome. He said the district’s operating funds ended about $21.9 million and the capital projects balance was approximately $5.1 million. "We landed in the green best case scenario," S13 told trustees, adding that district adjustments and savings reduced the expected drop in operating funds from about $2.9 million to roughly $700,000.

S13 attributed the improved results to several factors: $500,000 shifted from non-operating levy funds to operating funds; higher-than-expected state and federal grant receipts; strong local tax collections in DuPage County; lower-than-budgeted purchased services (notably about $150,000 under budget for legal services); and transportation and outside-tuition savings. He said the STEM wing final billing arrived earlier than anticipated, which reduced interest on a capital fund but did not change the overall positive outcome.

Trustees followed with questions about the largest variances. One trustee (S11) asked for more detail on the purchased‑services savings and how to reflect that in next year’s budgeting; S13 replied that legal‑service savings were the primary driver and that staff will provide more detailed breakdowns during the tentative budget process next month.

The presentation sets the district up to present a tentative budget in August with updated five‑year projections, according to S13. The board received the unaudited results and asked staff to flesh out details on purchased services and carryforward assumptions ahead of the next meeting.