Waunakee board approves second‑draft 2025–26 budget with added staff and compensation changes

The Waunakee Community School District Board approved the second draft of the 2025–26 budget during its June 9 meeting after a presentation from Allie Newton.

Newton told the board the draft assumes a $0 per‑student change in categorical aid, a $325 per‑student increase in the revenue‑limit formula, a 2.95% salary cost assumption for personnel, and 5% increases for health insurance, utilities and transportation. The second draft also includes a district‑wide capital maintenance plan funded from Fund 49 and a net addition of 2.4 full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions; Newton said the draft includes an additional 1.0 FTE nurse position at Arboretum Elementary tied to an individual student need rather than contracted services.

Board members voted to approve the second draft (motion by Frey, second by Heinrichs); the vote was recorded as 7–0. The board also approved a set of related budget actions later in the meeting, including the fund balance classifications and formal 2024–25 budget revisions.

The meeting also recorded a district receipt of a CTE grant reimbursement of $58,703 reported by Dr. Brown in the administrative reports, which the superintendent said would offset district expenditures recorded earlier in the year.

Ending: The board adopted the second draft as its working budget; staff will finalize documents for subsequent public hearings and the final budget adoption process.