Five-Year Financial Forecast Draft Raises Transportation Cost Growth Assumption from 3% to 6%

What happened

During the July 27, 2026 board meeting, officials disclosed that the district's five-year financial forecast draft revised its annual transportation cost growth assumption from under 3% to 6%, based on actual cost trends over the past six years, including higher bus prices, parts costs, and driver wages.

Why it matters to families

A doubling of the assumed annual growth rate for transportation costs signals a material worsening of the district's long-term budget outlook, which affects levy planning, service levels (including the transportation cuts described in the same meeting), and overall fiscal sustainability.

The evidence

A board member stated the five-year forecast 'typically...had built in under 3% for the growth in that factor, and now it's been brought up to 6%,' based on 'what is actually happened for the last six years,' and noted the district went out to bid hoping for efficiencies but 'it went the other direction.'

The source