District overview
Carmi-White County CUSD 5
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is Carmi-White County CUSD 5 paid for, and who decides?
Carmi-White County Community Unit District No. 5 runs seven schools in and around Carmi, from pre-K through high school. A seven-member elected Board of Education meets monthly, usually on the third Monday at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Attendance Center annex. It adopts the budget and tax levy, sets policy, and oversees Superintendent Jarrod Newell. In December 2025 the board raised its property tax levy about 32%, saying state and federal money is shrinking.
$9.38M tax levy
2025 levy adopted Dec. 18, 2025, up from $7.09 million, an increase of about $2.3 million.
$24.0M FY27 spending
All-fund spending in the budget adopted Sept. 21, 2026, against $24.4 million in projected receipts.
$27.3M projected balances
Total projected fund balances for 2026-27, including $15.8 million in the education fund.
1% sales tax
About $377,000 of county school sales tax money is used to lower (abate) the bond levy.
The district's own website was not used, because its host's terms bar automated collection. This page relies on agendas as reposted by a local paper and on that paper's short public news excerpts, so many meeting outcomes are not known.
Where the district stands
Up from $7,086,775 the year before.
Projected receipts are $24,415,415.
Education fund receipts are projected at $18,460,269.
For curriculum, vocational programs, fine arts, technology, security and sports.
Major projects
Summer 2026 building repairs and gym foundation monitoring
repairs bid; foundation monitoring ongoingThe board agreed in March 2026 to seek bids for summer repairs: parking lot and playground coating, boiler and HVAC checks, roof work at Lincoln, doors and concrete at Washington, steam pipe repair at Brownsville, and bleacher, gym, floor and locker work at the junior-senior high. Cracks in the junior-senior high gym foundation are being tracked with monitors. A news report in April said the track will be resurfaced.
- Board agrees to seek repair bids
- Summer maintenance projects on agenda
Funding
District funds; amounts not published in collected sources
State school maintenance grant (FY27)
application authorizedOn Sept. 21, 2026 the board authorized an application for a state school maintenance grant for FY27. The grant amount and local match were not in the collected reports.
- Application authorized
Funding
State school maintenance grant with a local match
Locked phone pouches for students
in effect for 2026-27Students keep phones, smartwatches and listening devices in locked Yondr pouches during the school day, with access at lunch and after school.
- Rule announced for 2026-27
Funding
Not stated
Recent news
View the news feed →Resources
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Board agendas from November 2025 through October 2026 were collected from The Villagers Voice (thevillagersvoice.com), a White County news site that reposts each district agenda in full. Its reports on board meetings were also collected. Most news reports are behind a paywall, so only their opening paragraphs could be read.
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