PESHTIGO – The Peshtigo School District Board of Education held their regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, where they discussed the 2026 - 2027 preliminary budget.

The meeting opened with public comments, where Cassie Motkowski emphasized the importance of School Resource Officers (SROs) following safety events in nearby districts, and inquired about ticketed concert entry and safety protocols for the upcoming senior citizens breakfast.

Brittany Norr asked whether the district had explored contracting with the Marinette Police Department for a lower-cost SRO option compared to Marinette County. Superintendent Patrick Rau said he spoke with the police chief Jon LaCombe about SROs, but no offer to provide one was made.

Following public comments, Rau gave a presentation on the 2026 - 2027 preliminary budget.

Preliminary budget and enrollment numbers

Rau shared that Wisconsin public schools operate under a scarcity model, forcing trade-offs between funding priorities.

In terms of funding, Peshtigo remains a low revenue limit district — around $11,975 per pupil for the current school year — when compared to higher spending Wisconsin districts — such as Gibraltar, spending $25,599 this school year — due to state statutory caps established in 1993.

State revenue limits were frozen from 2020 to 2023, but Rau explained that the subsequent $325 annual limit adjustment fails to keep pace with inflation, leaving a cumulative gap of $3,571 per pupil since 2009.

With these per pupil amounts in mind, he then gave an overview of the student body makeup for the district.
Enrollment stands at 1,006 total students, including 849 residents, 210 open enrolled in, 56 open enrolled out and 23 in the Rural Virtual Academy. There has been a consistent annual influx of students into the district, with an average net gain of 144 students annually over 10 years. There have also been four incoming open-enrolled students for every single exit.

Finally, Rau looked at the overall budget. The preliminary total revenue is $16,336,533, — which mainly comes from state equalization aid, $9 million, and local property taxes, $2.46 million. The preliminary total expenditures are balanced, mainly going towards $7.42 million in salaries and $3.81 million in purchased services.

Rau explained that actions were taken to lower expenditures through the reduction of one full-time education staff member by not hiring a replacement, totalling nine staff reductions since 2021.

In other financial updates, the board accepted a $1,000 donation from the McHenry Management Group for the soccer program and a $17,500 donation from the Bulldog Booster Club for the athletic department. The funding came from the video board sponsorships.

The parking lot replacement bid from Peshtigo Asphalt was approved as the lowest bidder.

Additionally, the board approved the resignation of varsity girls head basketball coach Courtney Young and approved 23 Start College Now applications for a variety of courses.