2026-27 budget draws district reserves down by nearly a third

What happened

The board's adopted 2026-27 budget spends down the district's savings: the Reserve for Economic Uncertainties falls from $9,842,190 to $6,860,784 (down 30.3%), and the total ending General Fund balance falls from $13,351,298 to $7,662,116 (down 42.6%). Total revenue drops 5.7% to $23,937,378, mainly because one-time federal and state relief funding is running out (federal revenue down 16.9%, other state revenue down 12.9%).

Why it matters to families

A district drawing down its savings by close to a third in one year, largely because temporary pandemic-era relief money has ended, is the kind of budget change that can force harder choices in future years if revenue doesn't recover or spending doesn't adjust. That said, the budget itself does not show a district in fiscal distress: the reserve remaining after this drawdown, $6,860,784, is still roughly 23% of total 2026-27 spending, well above the roughly 4% minimum the state requires a district this size to hold.

The evidence

The 2026-27 Budget Adoption Board Packet, adopted July 1, 2026, reports these exact figures in its General Fund summary (unrestricted + restricted totals), comparing the 2025-26 estimated actuals to the adopted 2026-27 budget.

The source