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Board warned of $22.3 million budget hole; tentative budget to include 2% levy with possible stretch to 4.3%
Summary
District administrators told the board the tentative budget will show a $22.3 million revenue shortfall driven by rising special-education, transportation and health-insurance costs; staff plan to present a 2% tax-levy increase (the cap) and await Department of Education guidance on options that could increase the levy further.
Speaker 3 said the district will present a tentative budget for the board by March 19 and warned of a substantial revenue shortfall.
"We still have a budget hole on the revenue side that's substantial, $22,300,000," Speaker 3 said, citing rising special-education costs and other expenditure pressures. He said out-of-district tuition alone is projected to increase by $2,700,000 and that health-insurance costs are expected to rise around 10%, with the state plan increasing about 14%.
Speaker 3 said the administration plans "to initially present a budget, with a 2% tax levy increase, which is the max," and noted the district could use a health-insurance "cap stretcher" that would add roughly 2.3 percentage points, bringing that portion to about 4.3% if applied to the general fund. He also said a paid-off bond series reduces the debt-service fund by approximately $3,400,000, producing a net levy increase of about 2.5% when both funds are considered.
The administration advised the board it had asked the county office to expect guidance from the Department of Education about a provision that may allow districts to exceed the 2% levy cap in certain circumstances; staff said they would evaluate any formal guidance when received. The presentation closed with an acknowledgment that the district started the budget process relying on one-time revenues in the prior year and faces shifting equalized valuations among its four constituent towns.
