Board closes $5.4M budget gap with reserves, not cuts

What happened

The board adopted the FY27 (2026-27) budget on March 10, 2026, covering a roughly $5.4 million gap — $81 million in rollover costs against $76 million in expected revenue — by spending about $4.5 million of one-time reserves rather than cutting programs or staffing ratios.

Why it matters to families

Programs and class sizes stay unchanged for 2026-27, but reserves spent once are gone: the same gap returns for FY28 unless state per-student funding (flat at $6,660) rises or costs fall, which would put cuts back on the table next year.

The evidence

The January 24 budget retreat presented a $5,366,000 rollover gap; the March 5 budget work session revenue reports show an $80,585,800 operating budget including $4,473,961 budgeted use of fund balance; approved March 10 minutes record final adoption.

The source