Peshtigo School District yearly budget approved

PESHTIGO – October brought in a variety of meetings for the Peshtigo Board of Education, with a regular meeting starting the month and the annual meeting and special meeting closing it off.

The main topic of discussion and action was the 2025 - 2026 budget and approval of levies for the general fund and debt services.

In breaking down the revenue from the general fund (Fund 10) and special education fund (Fund 27), Director of Finance Sarah Swanson reported that the total is $15,736,848. This revenue is comprised from:

• State equalization aid — $8,497,845 (54% of revenue)
• Property taxes — $2,542,972 (16% of revenue)
• Open enrollment — $2,270,932 (15% of revenue)
• Other state aid — $1,718,324 (11% of revenue)
• Federal aid — $529,142 (3% of revenue)
• Other revenue — $177,633 (1% of revenue)

Working against these revenues are the expenses drawn from the same funds. The total expenditures are balanced at $15,736,848, which goes towards:

• Salaries — $7,398,832 (47% of expenses)
• Benefits — $3,492,244 (22% of expenses)
• Purchased services — $3,343,835 (21% of expenses)
• Open enrollment — $549,510 (4% of expenses)
• Non-capital objects — $681,257 (4% of expenses)
• Other — $271,170 (2% of expenses)

A total of 69% of the expenses goes towards staff, but the other categories have more spending options within them. Purchased services range from transportation to building maintenance and snow removal while non-capital objects also include many items, like textbook purchases.

Open enrollment can be found in both the revenue and expenditures. This is because the Peshtigo School District receives funds from students outside of the district’s residential area that choose to enroll in the school. On the other hand, the district must pay out for students in the area that enroll in other schools.

Looking at enrollment, the following data can been seen between the 2024 - 2025 school year and the 2025 - 2026 school year:

• 918 resident students attending last year, 922 this year
• 199 student open enrolled in last year, 224 this year
• 53 students open enrolled out last year, 48 this year
• 22 Rural Virtual Academy (RVA) students last year, 25 this year

Last year, a total of 1,078 students were enrolled in the district. This year, there are 1,068 students.

While additional open enrollment into the district is a financial benefit, RVA students and those enrolled out are a financial loss, Swanson shared.

The main aspect of the enrollment drop that the district is looking at is the change in kindergarten enrollment.

Anderson said that the Class of 2025 had 67 students instead of the typical mid-70s to mid-80s student body that is typically seen, which is mirrored with the kindergarten student body.

Superintendent Patrick Rau said that this decrease is being seen across the state, but no one is sure if this year is an outlier or the beginning of a trend. Since there is no major data collection system regarding children between birth and the age of four, schools will have to wait and see what happens.

The budget was brought up again on Monday, Oct. 27, during the annual meeting and board meeting. The board voted to approve the 2025 - 2026 budget.

Additionally, the general fund levy of $2,812,441 and the debt service fund levy of $2,269,641 were approved. The board also authorized the short-term borrowing of $2.5 million due to delayed state aid.

The next board of education meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m.