With a state deadline looming next month, leaders for DeKalb School District 428 adopted a fiscal 2026 budget during a board meeting this week.

The board authorized the budget in a 6-1 vote. The lone dissenting vote was cast by board member Mark Charvat.

The district’s budget is projected to include about $158.2 million in revenue and $158.1 million in expenditures aimed at supporting the educational needs of students, while maintaining an operating fund balance of $103.9 million. That means the district has 8.5 months of cash on hand to allow schools to continue operating should any funding be frozen.

The district has a fund balance policy that calls for maintaining 20% to 30% of budgeted expenditures, officials said.

No one asked questions or made comments during a public hearing on the budget Tuesday.

Armir Doka, the district’s director of business and finance, warned the board that the final budget amount may differ by December after its passage this week.

The district is working off financial estimates that could prompt changes.

A tentative budget amount adopted by the board in early August has since seen some adjustments.

One such change to the budget is that the district is accounting for an increase of 2% from the state for disbursements of corporate personal responsibility replacement tax funding from last year’s allocation. The CPPRT funding – which is revenue collected by the state of Illinois and distributed to local governments, such as school districts – came in higher than first projected with the district’s tentative budget presentation in August, school board documents show.

In its budget, the district accounts for federal Title II and Title III funding from the federal government, funds that previously had been frozen by President Donald Trump’s administration. Such programs benefiting from these funds had come under fire, prompting a review for bias. The district has since received an update on the status of these funds in early August, school board documents show.

The budget shows that the district still will see a 30% drop in Medicaid reimbursements.

The budget includes funding for new elementary school renovations and construction, as well as additional staffing, among other things.

According to school board documents, salaries and benefits make up the largest expenses in the district’s budget at $72.7 million and $29.1 million, respectively.

When asked whether the district will consider any more cuts, board President Chris Boyes said no.

“I don’t think that there is necessarily anything that isn’t necessary in this budget,” Boyes said. “I mean, they’ve already gone through and started to cut things.”

Board member Nick Atwood said the district can boast about having a “balanced budget” that is no longer at a deficit.

But officials called on district staff for increased transparency about where reductions came in to help provide for a balanced budget. A district spokesperson said the reductions were proactive, meant to ensure a manageable budget with fiscal responsibility in mind.

The operations and maintenance fund, which is among the district’s primary sources of revenue, usually goes to keep DeKalb schools up and running. That fund has seen an 80% increase in disbursements and expenses, and it is largely reliant on local funds, officials said. Among some of the largest contributors to this change are construction costs for the new Mitchell Elementary School and renovating the Beyond One Barb Transition Center, school board documents show.

Doka said the district is exploring ways to incorporate other revenue sources.

He said the district and its taxpayers still are benefiting from relief provided under the state’s property tax relief grants.

But Doka said the district doesn’t receive increases in its evidence-based funding allotment any longer.

EBF is a funding formula employed by the state that allocates money based on a district’s needs rather than a flat amount.

“It was always a big boost taking from EBF funding,” Doka said. “The property tax relief grant eligibility for us – we were not eligible back in fiscal 2025, and you can see why. We’re probably getting into a higher tier, which meant less money, less priority and [less] need for those districts in that category."

Doka said reductions in the district’s tax rate are necessary to ensure that property tax relief grants continue.

He said new development on DeKalb’s south side prompted the district to consider exploring how to give relief to taxpayers.

When asked whether the fiscal 2026 budget ensures no need to increase property taxes for DeKalb residents, Doka tried to offer some reassurance.

The amount of property taxes that the district can levy is capped at a 2.9% consumer price index, or the rate of inflation, plus new construction come November, in accordance with the state’s Property Tax Extension Law limit.

“We have to look at the numbers,” Doka said. “... [As] always, our intention is to provide taxpayer relief within our means.”