The board is scheduled to consider a 3% salary-schedule increase for the 2025–26 school year under the educators’ tentative agreement, plus increases for other employee groups.
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On October 13, 2026 the board heard how it could adopt a new state option that fully exempts the home of a veteran with a permanent, total service-connected disability from school tax. The board has not voted. A resolution would be needed before March 1, 2027.
SFUSD’s 2025-26 year-end close showed a $35 million deficit in unrestricted operations, even though total fund balances remained positive. The district reported an ending fund balance of about $302 million, down from $429 million at the start of the year; the board approved the close packet unanimously.
The school board approved requests for additional spending authority to cover 2026 special education and English-language-program deficits. The requests total about $7.08 million and would be funded through a cash reserve levy.
On October 8, 2026 the district held a hearing on Intellectus Preparatory Charter School's renewal request to SUNY. It asks for a new five-year term starting August 1, 2027 and to add grade 12 to its current grades 6 to 11 (528 students).
On Oct. 7, Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Motisi said voters approved a 2026-27 tax levy increase of 2.48%. He said the district lowered it to 1.9%, a cut of $831,354, after a Babylon IDA property repaid about $800,000 in taxes it had owed.
District staff reported 7,817 students in 2024-25 and 7,631 in 2025-26, with 7,524 projected for 2026-27, a drop of about 293. On Oct. 7, 2026 they said the count was about 201 below 2024-25. The biggest drop is in grades 1 to 5.
The 2026-27 budget uses about $4.3 million of the district's fund balance (savings); last year it used none. On Oct. 7, 2026 administrators warned of cost pressures: district insurance is projected up 56% to $1.8 million, one rebid bus contract came back 30% to 40% higher, and special education and utility costs are rising.
A court ruling moves LIPA power-plant properties in Brookhaven and Smithtown off the tax rolls and into payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). Sachem's levy increase for 2026-27 drops from 2.0973% to 0.5625% (about $1.2 million instead of $4.5 million), but homeowner tax rates are now expected to rise more than 3%.
At its Oct. 6 meeting, the board discussed a current reduction target of $13.8 million, up from the roughly $7–8 million figure discussed in September; this is a planning target, not an approved cut package. The board deferred revised directions for the Boundary and Attendance Committee until Oct. 13, with discussion focused on potential elementary-facility retirements and new boundaries; no school closure was decided.
Marshalltown ended FY26 after spending about $7 million more than it brought in, reducing its general-fund balance from $9.9 million to $2.56 million. Its solvency ratio fell from 12.35% to 2.25%, below the district’s 8–10% policy minimum; administrators said they had already made $2 million in cuts and were still analyzing further budget adjustments.
The 2025-26 audit was clean except for one item: unassigned savings (fund balance) were 4.33% of next year's budget, above New York's 4% limit. A year earlier the share was near 11%. The savings fell about $6.2 million in 2025-26 and the district planned to use $14.97 million in 2026-27.
The board approved seeking $1,935,576.96 in supplemental spending authority from Iowa’s School Budget Review Committee to cover the district’s FY26 negative special-education balance. The deficit was about $140,000 lower than the previous year, and the presentation attributed the continued gap in part to state funding that has not kept pace with inflation.
The Oct. 5 agenda schedules discussion of a proposed districtwide Strategic Resource Allocation Review. The plan cites declining enrollment and the likelihood that ongoing expenses will exceed ongoing revenue, with possible service or spending reductions; no reduction target or specific cuts are identified yet.
On Sept. 30, the business office said the Walt Whitman Mall won a large cut in its assessed value (about $1.1 million) and four properties moved to payments in lieu of taxes. Total taxable value fell to about $40.2 million from $42.1 million. The board took up a lower school tax levy of about $131.3 million, $1.25 million less than planned in April. The estimated tax-rate increase is now about 6.4%, up from about 3% shown when the budget was adopted.
The board set the 2026-27 tax levy about $3.1 million lower, because the power utility LIPA will pay a fixed payment instead of regular school tax. The levy rises about 1.74%. Because LIPA land comes off the tax rolls, the district said homeowners' tax rate will still go up by more than 3.49%.
On September 30, 2026 the board set the 2026-27 school tax levy at $136,848,822 and the tax rate at $323.5034 per $100 of assessed value, a 4.60% rate increase. In May voters were told to expect 3.29% to 4.34%. The district said a settlement between LIPA and the Town of Brookhaven moved LIPA's property off the tax roll, which raises the rate for other taxpayers.
The agenda for the September 29, 2026 special meeting asks the board to approve subcontracting the district's custodial services to an outside company effective November 1, 2026, and to approve a settlement with the East Orange Educational Support Professionals' Association that ends the subcontracting negotiations and also settles the union's COVID-19 overtime lawsuit. The board opened this path on March 17, 2026 when it approved a resolution to consider subcontracting.
The 2026-27 Fund Balance and Reserve Plan, presented in September 2026, recommends $3,046,028 in new reserve funding: $2,000,000 for insurance, $559,561 for workers' compensation and $486,467 for property-tax refund claims. It reports $6,583,254 of unassigned fund balance at June 30, 2026.
On September 29, 2026 the board voted to reestablish the 2026-27 school tax levy. The district says this was needed because of the Town of Smithtown's settlement agreement with LIPA, the power utility.
The administration is recommending a total 2026–27 levy of up to $5.4208 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of $0.6817 over the current school-year rate. The proposed levy includes a $4.5508 operating levy and an unchanged $0.8700 debt-service levy; the district says lost property-tax-credit revenue and lower-than-expected state revenue will require a later budget amendment.
The district is recommending a 10.04% increase in total 2027 medical-plan funding, about $3.124 million, while keeping existing plan designs. The district would cover 75% of the increase, and employees and retirees would cover the remaining $780,950; the district’s monthly employee premium contribution would rise from $965 to $1,044.
The September working budget reports a $132.3 million recurrent shortfall before $80.8 million in nonrecurring adjustments, leaving a $51.5 million adjusted gap after the Board's central-office restructuring and earlier reduction work.
A Sept. 28, 2026 board presentation says the Long Island Power Authority, the district's biggest taxpayer, will pay through a PILOT deal with Huntington instead of normal taxes. The district now figures its 2026-27 property tax levy increase at 1.75%, down from the 3.31% in the May budget vote. In 2025-26 LIPA was billed $4.6 million for the district and paid $3.7 million.
At its September tax-rate hearing, district officials recommended keeping the total levy at $6.32 per $100 of assessed value and projected just over $55 million in property-tax revenue, about $5.7 million below last year. They cited lower assessed valuation and an estimated $4.8 million a year for three years in county tax-credit exposure, whose treatment was still uncertain.
The board approved a request to the School Budget Review Committee concerning the district’s 2025–26 special-education negative balance, which board members said was about $11 million. The district cited a funding gap: federal special-education reimbursement was 10.2% last fiscal year, versus the 40% originally promised.
The Sept. 28, 2026 agenda lists a Section 31aa funding resolution as an action item; the supplied record does not establish whether the board approved it or the amount sought. At its Oct. 2025 meeting, district officials said opting into the safety/security funds required a board resolution waiving privilege, and described a prior $5.4 million award, with the then-current award expected to be about half after a cap.
The board is scheduled to consider supporting Saginaw County’s Career and Technical Education millage renewal for the November 3, 2026 election. The agenda describes a proposed endorsement, not an adopted position, and provides no millage rate or revenue figures.
The September 28 agenda recommends setting the district’s 2026–27 property-tax levy at $5.2514 per $100 of assessed valuation; this is a proposed action, not a recorded board approval. The proposed rate is divided into $4.1639 for the Operating Fund and $1.0875 for Debt Service.
District staff reported that Alameda County conditionally approved Pleasanton Unified’s 2026–27 budget and required regular fiscal check-ins and a board discussion and solvency resolution by October 8. The update cited about $15 million in short-term borrowing and roughly $2 million in unappropriated funds, compared with $18–20 million in monthly operating costs.
The board's finance committee reported on September 24, 2026 that the district's unassigned fund balance is estimated at 5.93%, down from 11%, and is close to the 4% state limit. The district planned operating losses because it moved $4 million (2025-26) and $3.5 million (2026-27) to the capital fund for the 2025 Legacy project. The 2026-27 budget also uses about $8.4 million of fund balance.
The board adopted a five-year fiscal recovery plan setting reduction targets of $21.58 million in 2027-28 and another $9 million in 2028-29. The district said $6.58 million of the $18.2 million planned for 2026-27 was not achieved and is deferred; specific future cuts have not yet been selected.
A financial review included in the September 23 board packet projected a roughly $4.48 million FY2027 year-end deficit, despite the adopted budget’s balanced projection. As of August 19, it also identified $4.28 million in unbudgeted encumbrances, $2.53 million in over-budget encumbrances and $8.60 million in additional highly likely costs; the estimate was preliminary and assumed no further unanticipated expenses.
Alameda County conditionally approved OUSD’s 2026–27 LCAP and budget, citing a structural deficit and unsustainable unrestricted cash; the September 23 agenda scheduled the Board’s response, not adoption of its proposed resolution. OUSD projects ongoing gaps of about $30 million in 2027–28 and $10–11 million in 2028–29, while restricted reserves are projected to fall from $124 million in 2025–26 to $18.2 million by 2028–29.
State leaders announced $5 million for a new STEM Hub at Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Sept. 22, 2026. The money is expected in the 2027-28 state budget. The hub is also part of the proposed $140 million building project.
At the Sep 23, 2026 work session the finance chief said benefits (health and similar costs) were running much higher than budgeted. In Nov 2025 and Apr 2026 leaders also said medical costs were rising and would keep rising for two years.
District leaders estimated that state funding could fall about $1.2 million short of the state formula target this year and said next year’s outlook appears worse. They outlined possible levy changes—including one that would raise the total rate by 30 cents per $100 of assessed value—but said no decision has been made and they are seeking community input.
The audit summary shows the general fund ended June 30, 2026 with $127.7 million in total fund balance, up from $107.1 million. That includes $75.7 million set aside for capital projects, up from $58.8 million. Revenue of $188.2 million was $12.5 million above the amended budget, and spending was $9.3 million under budget. The auditors found no material weaknesses.
The district’s general fund recorded a $4.4 million shortfall in FY2025 and a further $1.162 million shortfall in FY2026, leaving its fund balance at about $4.3 million. The reported solvency ratio was 2.68%, below the 5% floor discussed with new financial-metrics policies at their first reading.
The board authorized the business administrator to sign a FY27 fuel contract at the best available price. The district said fuel was $5.08 per gallon, up from $2.64 last year, adding about $130,000 to costs compared with the prior year.
The September 17 action sets the real and personal property rate at 68.1 cents per $100, compared with 68.0 cents in FY2026. The meeting contrasted $3,211,511.27 in prior-year revenue with a $4,128,618.57 projection based on 100% collection.
At its Sept. 17 presentation, Calhoun County School District outlined a planned FY2027 budget with about $126 million in projected total revenue. The presentation included a 2% salary increase, a $1.4 million increase in transportation operations funding, and $10 million in general-fund capital outlay, but also identified roughly $600,000 in local costs for the state school-nurse program and a decline in advancement-and-technology funding to about $6 million.