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Board hears steep state-aid cuts and fund-balance drawdown as budget planning begins
Summary
Auditors and staff told the board state aid fell about $17.2 million and the district used more than $20 million of fund balance in the FY '24–'25 budget, leaving reserves constrained as administrators prepare the 2025–26 budget.
Auditors and district staff warned the board that the district faces substantial revenue pressure after a sharp cut to state aid. "There was a decrease in state aid of about 17,200,000," audit manager Chris Bodecker told the board while reviewing year‑over‑year revenue tables, saying stabilization aid was reduced by about $4.6 million and overall state funding declined roughly 32%.
Board and audit discussion traced how the district's finances relied on reserves in the prior budget cycle: auditors said the district ended the year with about $50.9 million in fund balance, a decrease of roughly $7.5 million from the prior year, and that the FY '24–'25 budget used approximately $12.6 million from reserves plus about $9.4 million of unreserved funds — more than $20 million in total — to balance the prior budget. "So we really utilized a lot of that fund balance in our fiscal '24, budget," the auditor said.
District leaders and the auditors said those drawdowns and the cuts in state aid will shape work on the coming 2025–26 budget, with administration beginning to assemble budget options in the next months. The auditors also referenced ongoing litigation with the state as a variable in future revenue recovery; board members asked for continued briefings as the administration prepares numbers.
