The 2025-26 Shawano School District budget was passed by a minimal quorum of the Shawano School Board on Oct. 27 with almost $1 million more in expenses than in revenues expected to come in.
General fund revenues are projected to be $33.6 million, down 1.4% from the previous year. Expenses are projected to be $34.59 million, which dropped 2.4% from the 2024-25 school year. As a result, the shortfall in the budget comes to $982,559, which is expected to be covered by the district’s fund balance.
This is the second year where the district has had to use the fund balance to cover expenses. In the 2024-25 budget, the district used $840,864 of the $12 million in reserves to handle all expenses, which included the purchase of land adjacent to Shawano Community High School.
The gap between revenue and expenses is expected to bring the fund balance down to $10.2 million, but that still keeps the district in a healthy financial position, according to Bryan Kadlec, finance consultant. Kadlec presented the budget at the annual meeting earlier in the evening. Fund balances should be between 25-30% of the district’s expenditures, and being at $10.2 million equals 29.7% of the expenditures.
“After around three years of building up our fund balance, we’re just having to use the fund balance last year for the fund purchase and for the shortfall,” Kadlec said. “The projection for the end of this year is still to land in a healthy spot.”
The total levy approved totals $13,725,721, only $31 more than the previous year, but as a result of significant increases in property values, the tax rate is dropping from $6.24 to $5.56 per $1,000 of equalized value. This means that the owner of a $200,000 piece of property will pay $1,112 in school district taxes. This does not include the taxes assessed by municipalities, the county and the technical college system.
“This is the third year that the levy has been flat,” Kadlec said. “It’s important to note that in the discussions we had prior to the referendum that we were going for a flat tax levy due to advantaging our debt service.”
Equalized value of the municipalities within the Shawano School District went up 12.16% across the board, with the city of Shawano increasing 11.18% and the Town of Wescott going up 15.3%. The two municipalities comprise almost 65% of the district.
“Given the amount increases we’ve seen in property values across these last five years, it’s not a really great data point to consider around taxes,” Kadlec said of the tax rate. “It is the tax levy I was talking about.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
