Sources:

• Superintendent’s FY2025 EOY Budget Update
• LPS FY2026 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget
• LPS FY2024 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget

Major Takeaways

The school budget for the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) has seen slower growth than previous years.

Rising educational costs (salaries/wages, accommodating new move-in students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and transportation) have contributed to rising expenses.

To prevent an operating override (which would permanently increase resident property taxes to fund rising school costs), the FY2026 budget has enacted major reductions in non-salary expenses.

These include:

• 7-17% cut of almost every department’s operating budget (much of which came from materials and supplies)
• Reducing professional development opportunities for teachers