Wausau School District committee recommends preliminary 2026–27 budget after discussion of insurance and building cuts

The Wausau School District Committee of the Whole on May 18 recommended the preliminary 2026–27 budget to the full board after an overview of revenue and expense assumptions, including a 2.63% wage increase for some employee groups and a 10% assumption for health-insurance premiums.

Assistant Superintendent Karen Fox presented the budget calendar and assumptions, saying the district’s process began in January and will continue through a final adoption scheduled for October 2026. She told the committee that revenue projections reflect a three-year rolling average for declining enrollment, uncertainty tied to private-school voucher (parental choice) costs that will be finalized in October, and changes in high-cost special-education reimbursement.

The presenter said the draft budget models several expense pressures, including the approved 2.63% salary adjustment for some employee groups and aggregated health-insurance-premium increases; revenue-side variables include the September pupil count that affects state aid and a 1.5% reduction applied across building budgets. "We pay attention to open enrollments coming to us from other districts as well as the ones that are going out," the presenter said, describing how enrollment shifts affect the revenue limit.

Board members asked about the 10% insurance assumption and whether national trends might reduce that projection. One said nationally utilization has been down for the first four months of the year and asked whether the district’s trend data from the insurer (M3) showed a similar pattern; the presenter said she would check and report back. Several members also pressed for clarity on how buildings will apply the 1.5% reductions. "We want to know what they're having to cut," one member said, asking that buildings report back on specific reductions and how classroom operations might be affected.

After discussion, the chair moved to recommend the preliminary budget to the full board; a motion and second were recorded, the committee voted by voice with one abstention noted, and the motion carried.

Next steps: the budget will be refined as enrollment and voucher numbers are finalized, and the committee will consider defeasance and mill-rate decisions later in the process before final adoption in October 2026.