Board approves balanced 2026-27 district budget

NEW LONDON – The New London Board of Education passed a proposed 2026-27 district budget that projected a 3.75% increase in the New London School District’s tax levy and a 2.4% increase in overall spending.

The proposed budget, which includes a balanced general fund, was approved by the board at its Sept. 9 meeting.

The proposed budget estimated that the mill rate would decrease from $5.57 to $5.35 of taxable property. The district’s mill rate is a couple dollars less than the state average.

The proposed budget included a 2.63% wage increase for district staff.

At the annual budget meeting held prior to the board meeting, Joe Marquardt, SDNL business services director, told the board that the 2025-27 State of Wisconsin’s Biennium Budget is the main reason for a tax levy increase and a decrease in the mill rate. He said the state budget does not include an increase in equalization aid revenue for the state’s school districts.

“When there’s no equalization aid increases and school districts are able to spend more due to the revenue limit authority, that falls on the tax levy to us at that cost,” Marquardt said.

The proposed budget allows for $11,975 to be spent per pupil, compared to $11,650 in the previous district budget, Marquardt said. He added that the $11,975 figure for the district is below the statewide average.

“The budget remains debt free for the third year in a row,” Marquardt added.

According to the Executive Summary the district provided the public regarding the proposed budget, “The advantage of being debt free is there are no principal and interest payments, but the disadvantage is there is no way to influence the levy through defeasance or staging expenditures. Also, future borrowings for future referendums may have a larger tax impact on a percentage change.”

Marquardt reminded the board that the numbers in the proposed 2026-27 budget are a projection as of late-August. Current unknown variables that can still impact the budget include the property values within the district that are used to determine the revenue limit, the district’s pupil count, and the final aid certification that is scheduled to be released Oct. 15.

Revenue assumptions

Marquardt said the district is estimated to receive $72,752 in state equalized aid.

While Marquardt said the statewide average increase for property values is projected to be 8%, some indicators point to the property values in the New London area municipalities to be around 11%, which would further lower the mill rate.

“We don’t get to levy more based upon new construction and property values, that’s just how the levy is distributed between the municipalities,” Marquardt said. “There’s not a lot that we can do to control that.”

According to the proposed budget, the district is allowed a $325 total increase in revenue limit authority per pupil. This would increase revenue limit authority by a net of $308,000. The district is projected to see an approximate $63,000 increase in revenue for special education state aid eligible expenditures. The district is also projected to see a decrease of $26,000 in revenue due to no increase to categorical aid equal to three-year rolling pupil count average.

Marquardt said the number of students enrolled in the district is decreasing.

“That would definitely impact our budget moving forward because if there is fewer students, there will be fewer reasons to have as many staff as we have across the district,” Marquardt said.

Expenditure assumptions

According to the proposed budget, the district would see health insurance and dental insurance costs increase 8% and 3%, respectively. The number of fulltime certified staff in the district would increase by three employees, while there would be no change in the number of support staff and administrative staff in the district. All district staff would receive a 2.63% wage increase. An additional $75,000 would be budgeted for supplemental compensation, 403(b) match and years of service stipends for eligible staff. Three new school bus purchases for the 2026-27 school year.

The budget projects a net loss of 183 fulltime students to open enrollment. This equates to a payment of $1,886,000 to other school districts.

“Many of the students open enrolled out have not attended NL schools,” it was stated in the board packet.

Fund balance

Marquardt said the 2026-27 unaudited data shows an increase in fund balance of $641,610. He said the primary reason for the increase is due to the district not filling staffing vacancies that opened during the 2025-26 school year. In addition, 15 staff members dropped health insurance during open enrollment.