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Middletown Unified adopts 2025–26 budget as officials warn reserves will decline
Summary
Trustees unanimously adopted the 2025–26 budget after staff presented multi-year projections showing unallocated reserves of about $869,000 now but projected declines that could leave the district at or near the 3% reserve minimum in later years, prompting calls for a deficit-elimination plan.
The Middletown Unified Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the district's 2025–26 budget after staff presented multi-year projections and cautioned that reserves will decline in future years.
A staff member in the business office summarized the projection: "We end the year, with 869,000 in [unallocated funds] that hasn't been allocated," and explained the figure carries into 2025–26. Board members pressed for clarity on the multi-year picture; the staff forecast that by 2026–27 the district's unallocated savings could be exhausted while the board's reserve would sit near the 3% minimum.
Superintendent Jeff Crane told trustees, "we are out spending our income by, depending on the budget year between 1.2 and $1,500,000 a year," framing the scale of the structural deficit the district faces. Trustees and staff discussed the county's "positive certification" threshold and confirmed that falling below the required 3% reserve in the third-year projection would trigger a qualified certification.
Trustees said they want the superintendent and staff to continue developing a deficit-elimination plan to address the shortfall. The board approved the budget adoption motion after the presentation; the vote was recorded as 5-0 in favor.
The district will carry the presented multi-year projection into upcoming planning meetings and use August and the September workshop to flesh out process and priorities tied to the deficit-elimination work.
