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“Without that $14.5 million, today’s meeting would be a very different meeting,” said Dan McCrea, the district’s chief financial officer.

McCrea emphasized that the referendum funding is primarily to maintain existing programs and initiatives, not to introduce new ones. It allows the district to preserve services and staff, he said.

“It’s not new programming, it’s really maintaining our existing programming,” McCrea said. “Class sizes are not increasing because we have $14.5 million to work with.”

2025-2026 budget highlights include:

Special education staffing: The plan adds 10 full-time certified special education teachers to address increasing student needs, a commitment under the district’s “Student Excellence” priority.

Compensation: The budget allocates approximately $3.4 million for staff compensation and benefits, including $2.03 million for a base wage increase of 2.95% (netting to 2.15% for staff) and a planned investment of approximately $1.4 million toward health insurance.

Operational security: The stability provided by the 2024 referendum allows the district to avoid the mass layoffs faced by other districts, McCrea said. “We’ve not necessarily been forced to make those decisions in terms of non-renewal of certified status for economic reasons,” he said.

The budget incorporates complex state funding increases, which are vital for Janesville due to its status as a highly aided district.

Per-pupil revenue: The state allows for a $325 per-pupil revenue limit increase which generates approximately $2.9 million. However, the net increase is $1.9 million because the district applied a $1 million one-year, non-recurring “declining enrollment exemption.”

McCrea described this exemption as a “circuit breaker” to mitigate revenue loss from a decrease in membership (resident students).

Equalization Aid: The district will receive about $78 million in General Equalization Aid, an increase of about $2.46 million over the prior year. McCrea said this aid is primarily for tax relief, as Janesville is highly aided—receiving over 64% of its general operating revenue limit from the state due to lower property values compared to property-rich districts.

Special education reimbursement: The budget is based on a 40% reimbursement rate for special education costs, conservatively budgeting below the 42% line in state law.

The district is also managing significant debt and will have to plan carefully for cash flow due to the timing of state payments, McCrea said.

Cash Flow: The budget has an unrestricted fund balance of $26.15 million. Mccrea cautioned that this is a June 30 snapshot. “The $26.15 million is essentially gone come December,” he said, as the district spends the funds to cover expenses before state aid and tax receipts arrive. To manage this gap, the board plans to authorize a $5 million line of credit.

Capital Debt: The district is servicing debt from a separate voter-approved $151.8 million capital referendum. The Fund 39 debt obligation for the 2024 referendum currently stands at about $12.2 million.

Tax Levy: The school district’s total approved tax levy for 2025-26 is about $12.2 million, double the $6.1 million levy for 2024-25. The approved tax rate is $7.70 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from $7.39 in 2024-25. For the owner of a $300,000 home, that would amount to a school district portion of their tax bill of $2,310, up from $2,217 in 20024-25. There are also municipal, county and technical college portions of the tax bills that are mailed out in December.

Capital improvements

The school district is pushing ahead with capital improvement projects, including nearly $4.5 million in roofing and facility updates, following the passage, also in November 2024, of a facilities referendum.

The projects are a combination of those funded by a portion of the approved referendum funds, known as Fund 49, and the district’s long-term capital maintenance fund, Fund 46.

The Fund 46 cash balance is approximately $9.1 million, generated by unspent funds over time. It became available for use after a five-year, state-required time period following its 2015 creation.

Apex Building Consultants on Tuesday night provided an updated timeline on the roofing projects. Work is either completed or underway at six school buildings, totaling an estimated $3.9 million.

• Franklin Elementary’s remaining roof sections, not completed in 2024, are now done at a cost of $956,000.
• Targeted sections at Lincoln Elementary are completed at $359,000.
• Washington Elementary’s roof is fully completed at $572,000.
• All roof sections at Rock River Charter School are completed at $96,000.
• Work at Marshall Middle School, covering all roof sections except the curved metal roof, is in process at an estimated cost of $1.3 million.
• Selected roof sections at Craig High School are mostly completed, with the main entrance still underway, totaling $553,000.

Of the $3.9 million approximate total for these projects, $2.9 million is sourced through Fund 49 and $1 million from Fund 46.

An additional project at Parker High School, covering the main gym and mechanical penthouse, is completed at an approximate cost of $542,000, funded solely via Fund 46.

The district is also addressing a cooling system failure at Craig High School. Two portable chiller units were brought in in July to provide temporary cooling for the remainder of the season. A new chiller system is being designed, bid, procured and installed.

The district has issued a purchase order for the work, at a total cost of $623,500. It is expected to be complete before the spring 2026 cooling season begins.

Phase one of a two-phase project to restore ball diamonds at both Craig and Parker high schools began this fall. The work will focus on restoring two primary competition fields at each location, at a total cost of $442,502.

A detailed listing of other completed, in process or on-hold 2025-2026 projects will be presented at the upcoming committee meeting, Nov. 19, at 4:30 p.m.