Belton ISD board approves 2026–27 budget assumptions, setting enrollment and revenue baselines

Melissa Lafferty, the district's chief financial officer, presented the preliminary assumptions the administration will use to build the 2026–27 budget and described them as conservative starting points. "As we begin the development of the '26, '27 budget, I'm presenting the preliminary assumptions that will serve as the framework for our initial revenue and expenditure projections," Lafferty said.

Key figures presented by Lafferty included a projected enrollment of 13,530 students, a 93% average-attendance rate for revenue estimation, and a working assumption of a 4% increase in local taxable property values. She said the district would maintain a $410 monthly contribution toward health benefits per enrolled employee for budgeting purposes and that staff-pay increases remain under study.

Board members discussed trade-offs and the conservative posture of the assumptions. A board member noted capital projects planning and said the administration settled on a $1,000,000 starting point for annual capital outlays (down from an earlier board-targeted $1,500,000) as a pragmatic budget assumption while allocations will vary campus to campus.

The board voted to approve the 2026–27 budget assumptions as presented; the vote was 7–0. The approval does not adopt a final budget; it establishes the baseline assumptions for staff as they prepare recommended budgets for board consideration later in the process.

Next steps: staff will continue to refine salary recommendations and return to the board with a full proposed budget later in the adoption calendar; the assumptions will guide allocations and capital planning in the interim.