The final 2026-27 budget for the Shawano School District will get its approval Oct. 26, but the Shawano School Board got a look at the latest numbers Sept. 28. They showed the tax rate could go up, even as property values also increase.
Finance Director Bryan Kadlec presented the board with the latest estimates that showed the district has a potential surplus of about $38,000. This comes after the board voted in February to cut $1.77 million in expenses based on the forecast that at least $1.6 million would need to trimmed in order to keep from tapping into the district’s fund balance.
The surplus might not be there long, according to Kadlec, as the district is still waiting on the final certification of how much state aid it will receive, which is based on the latest student count conducted Sept. 18. Once that information’s available on Oct. 15, the district will be able to finalize the budget for presentation less than two weeks later — first to the electorate in the district’s annual meeting where the tax levy will be set, and then to the board.
District taxpayers are currently paying $5.56 per $1,000 of equalized valuation, but the latest estimates from Kadlec show it could be going up to $5.69. He noted that the latest property values from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue show that there is a 6.9% increase, slightly less than last year’s 12.16% bump.
The latest student count indicates 2,141 attending the public schools this year, according to Kadlec, lower than the 2,152 students counted in 2025 but much less of a drop than the district has experienced over the last decade. Where the enrollment numbers are more troubling is with open enrollment; 156 students are coming to Shawano from other districts, but 307 students living in Shawano attend schools in other districts. Kadlec, however, estimates the final number will be 270 after information comes back from the state.
Board member Bobbi Lemerond expressed concern that more needed to be done to encourage local families to bring their children back to Shawano schools, as the current situation has state aid originally designated locally following the students elsewhere.
“That’s a lot of students out that we need back,” Lemerond said.
The district’s fund balance is in a healthier position than previously thought, coming in just shy of $11 million, up from the $10.2 million reported last year. The latest fund balance is around 32% of the district’s total estimated budget for this year of $34.4 million.
“We did not have as much of a deficit (in 2025-26), so our fund balance did go up,” Kadlec said. “That’s another positive sign of how things are going.”
Board member John Arens said he was pleased with the fund balance going up after several years of the district tapping into it when expenses exceeded revenue.
“Remember when they talked about when 24% was considered healthy?” Arens said. “That was for so many years, but it didn’t account for the increased cost of goods. Some people might think that’s a lot, but considering some of the failures we’ve had in the past, it’s not a lot.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
