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“It’s going to change by the time October rolls around when we actually approve the budget,” Sylvester-Knutson said.

The preliminary budget had been developed prior to the July 1 release of aid estimates from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and was based on revenues of about $149.2 million.

Sylvester-Knutson said that excludes about $10 million of ESSER-related, or COVID relief, revenues and expenses incurred in the fiscal year that just ended. However, he said there will be some ESSER expenses in the 2024-25 fiscal year. There is no estimate yet, but it will not be $10 million, he said.

The district will have an additional $6 million in revenue limit authority after a $325 per student increase in the revenue limit approved by the state. Also, 2024-25 is the fourth year of the non-recurring referendum that permits an extra $3 million of revenue limit authority.

Janesville is expected to get $76 million of state equalization aid, per Department of Public Instruction estimates released on July 1. This would be an increase over $72 million in 2023-24.

Sylvester-Knutson said that just because that is an increase of $4 million, doesn’t mean that the district has an extra $4 million to spend.

“The revenue limit, when equalization aid increases, property taxes decrease. So, there’s an inverse relationship, and vice versa. If equalization aid decreases, property taxes, all else equal will go up,” Sylvester-Knutson said.

There are still several unknowns, in addition to the final aid number, for the actual budget that will be approved, Sylvester-Knutson said, including the third Friday count. That is the count of students in schools and who live in the district. It also includes open enrollment, which is finalized in September. The district also needs to know independent and private school vouchers and property values, which will help determine the tax rate.