Annual school budget hearing: closing 2025–2026; preparing for the 2026–2027 school year

by Melissa Yekulis

The School Board meeting around the Annual Budget Hearing for Manchester Community Schools was called to order at 5:01pm on Monday, June 15. One board member was absent from the meeting.

The meeting began with the approval of the agenda. The agenda for the Budget Hearing was approved unanimously.

There was no Old Business to address.

The New Business consisted of the End of Year Budget Review and Preliminary Budget for the 2026–2027 school year. The entire presentation was made by Manchester Community Schools Chief Financial Officer Shannon Cajic.

The presentation began with an overview of the district’s fund status as the 2025–2026 fiscal year comes to a close. The district’s current revenue is $11,584,626. The district’s current expenditures are $11,866,878. The district’s Fund Equity balance currently sits at 6.00%.

Next, Cajic presented the forms of revenue that currently support the district. Within the general fund, State Revenue makes up 52.8% of the income, Local Revenue makes up 33.8% of the income, Transfers/Other make up 10.9% of the income, and, finally, State Revenue consists of 2.5% of the income. Meanwhile, the top three district expenditures are made up of Basic Instruction at 41.6%, Operations and Maintenance at 12.8%, and Transportation Services at 9.4% with additional expenditures taking up smaller allocations of the budget.

Reviewing the Fund Balance trends, the balance has been on a steady decline since it reached a new peak in 2022, thanks to the final round of additional federal funds during the COVID outbreak. Since that time, federal funds have been on a steady decline. The balance has not been this low since the 2015–2016 school year. 

A brief presentation was made around the needed amendments to the budget to close out the 2025–2026 school year. The Capital Projects Millage Fund is ongoing in alignment with the bond work that continues, district wide. Capital Projects Fund has downsized. The Food Service fund requires changes due to adjusted costs from food and maintenance repairs at the end of the year. The Community Service Fund saw changes due to increases in GSRP funding in the Manchester Early Childhood Center. The Student Services Fund saw a decrease in fundraising and activities spending this year.

Finally, information was shared around the L-4029 Millage Rates for the 2026 fiscal year. There was a percentage increase of 3.61%. A total of $603,670,719 was brought in during 2025. It is projected a total of $625,469,462 will be brought in at the end of 2026.

Next, Cajic transitioned to her proposal presentation of the 2026–2027 school year budget. Revenue is projected to be $10,395,141. Expenditures are projected to be $10,460,211. The Fund Equity Balance is projected to be at 6.06%.

There are major fund impacts that need to be considered for the coming school year as plans are developed:

• Student enrollment projections versus actual enrollment in August
• Potential State Aid Allowance increase that will not be known until the fall
• Decreased grant funding from the State as grants expire
• Increased opportunities for new grant funding as they are released by the state
• Increases in local revenue
• Less Medicaid funding
• Department budget evaluations and the tightening of the budget across the district

The top three budget expenditures to consider for the upcoming year include: Basic Instruction at 44.9%, Operations and Maintenance at 11.8%, and Added Needs at 9.5%. Transportation costs are expected to decrease thanks to the purchase of the new propane-based bus fleet and the decreased costs in switching to propane for fuel, and fewer maintenance needs.

In evaluating the primary budget appropriations for the new year, it is anticipated there will be more funds coming out of the Capital Projects Millage Fund as bond work continues throughout the district. The Food Services Fund should remain healthy. Capital Projects, Community Services, and Student Services Funds should remain steady.

Upon the conclusion of her presentation, Cajic was recognized for the tremendous work she did working with the budget and completing the presentation while in the middle of a transitional move from Riverside to the Jr/Sr High School for the summer. She was thanked by Superintendent Head and fellow school board members for her work.

As the board resumed its meeting, discussion took place around the need for more transparency and awareness around the budget. The board discussed the need to make changes within their own systems and operations and have a finance committee meeting on the Thursday before the annual budget meeting, so they are prepared and have a strong understanding of the budget before the formal presentation. There were changes that took place in the budget between their last meeting and the presentation due to the arrival of bills and sudden changes in state grant funding that happened to all districts across the state. Next year they will look to adjust their meeting schedule so that it will better align with the closing of the fiscal calendar.

For the next portion of the meeting, the board went about approving the following budget amendments to the 2025–2026 school year budget. Each amendment was opened for discussion and a roll call vote followed. Each amendment was unanimously approved:

• Capital Projects Millage Fund
• Capital Projects Fund 
• Food Service Fund 
• Community Services Fund
• General Fund
• Student Services Fund

Following approval of the amendments for the 2025–2026 school year budget, the board approved the following fund appropriations for the 2026–2027 school year. Each appropriation was opened for discussion and a roll call vote followed. Each appropriation was unanimously approved:

• Capital Projects Millage Fund
• Capital Projects Fund 
• Food Service Fund 
• Community Services Fund
• General Fund
• Student Services Fund

The Tax Levy Memo Form L-4029 was also presented for Fiscal Year 2026. A roll call vote was completed and the form was unanimously accepted.

There was no additional Public Participation.

The Budget Hearing of the School Board Meeting was adjourned at 6:22pm, with plans to reconvene the regular board meeting after a five-minute break.

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.