RIVER FALLS — River Falls School District Director of Finance and Facilities Lynette Coy presented the 2025-26 budget ahead of the 6 p.m. Sept. 22 annual meeting and budget hearing at River Falls High School during the Aug. 25 school board meeting.

While some compensation and other information is still being gathered, the projected school levy is expected to increase from $25.76 million to $27.08 million in the coming year. From 2023-24 to 2024-25, the levy saw an increase from $22.86 million to $25.76 million.

“This is really our somewhat preliminary budget for approval, and then, in October, we come back and do sort of what we call an original budget,” Coy said. “If you recall, throughout the year we keep our eyes on the budget and, like we did last year, we often do a revised budget as numbers sort of get finalized.”

Coy said the operating referendum approved by the taxpayers adds $1 million to that, and the state budget approval of a $325 per pupil increase. Coy said the $325 is added to taxes because the state did not approve an increase to per pupil state aid.

A balanced budget is presented for the general fund, which would keep the total ending fund balance at $14.7 million.

The district is expecting to receive a sizable state aid increase when it comes to education funding. The increase was not the target the district was hoping for but was seen as a win for many of the area’s schools.

“The target [for special education reimbursement] was 33%. It actually came closer to 30%,” Coy said.

Due to the increase, the district is expecting state special education reimbursement to increase from $1.87 million to $2.66 million. Coy said they approved new staff in special education, so the reimbursement was important.

The full budget proposal is available on the school board meeting tab of the district website.

Shared Agreements

The board approved agreements with multiple area schools during the meeting. The first was with UWRF to hire an additional paraprofessional to provide support for students with disabilities in 4K. They split the cost with the university, marking no difference from a year ago.

They also approved a deaf and hard of hearing contract with Ellsworth and Prescott. This year, Ellsworth’s share increased slightly due to student population, leaving River Falls to cover 70% for their share of the deaf and hard of hearing program.

Lastly, Project SEARCH agreements were made with Prescott, Ellsworth and St. Croix Central. The program is run out of the local hospital to teach students necessary skills that may need an extra year. Board members and school representatives at the meeting spoke highly of it.

The board heard sharing these contracts does not prevent River Falls from meeting its students’ needs, as the need to hold entire contracts to themselves currently is not there.

Other business

• Approved an attendance policy that was discussed at length during the first reading back in July. The policy defines types of absences and provides four excused absences due to illness if a guardian informs the school.
• The board approved the formation of an Ad-Hoc Committee.
• Approved a general education paraprofessional job description.
• Approved the RFHS Virtual Academy student handbook for 2025-26.