CESA 1 tells Germantown committee that student counts drive district revenue

Sara Viramontez of Cooperative Educational Service Agency 1 told the Germantown School District Finance Committee that student membership — a state‑defined full‑time‑equivalent (FTE) count — is the primary driver of district revenue and spending authority. "Students really do drive revenue," Viramontez said during the committee's final session in an eight‑unit finance series.

Viramontez walked the committee through how the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) uses the September and January count dates to calculate FTE, then averages those counts and applies summer and other adjustments to determine the FTE used for equalization aid and revenue‑limit calculations. She showed Germantown figures from DPI: a September 2024 head count of 3,804 and a January 2025 count of 3,793 that are used in the aid calculation.

She explained how the three‑year rolling average affects a district’s maximum revenue per member and highlighted exemptions (for declining enrollment, transfers of service, etc.) that alter spending authority. "Declining enrollment can reduce revenue faster than fixed costs can be cut," she said, noting the difficulty of matching staffing and facilities to short‑term swings.

Viramontez also described how open enrollment and state voucher programs reallocate dollars. She noted the 2025–26 open‑enrollment transfer amount is $10,102 per pupil; whether an open‑enrolled student is net positive depends on that student’s service needs and whether adding a student forces a new class or staff hire. Using DPI public data for 2024–25, she reported approximately 45.4 FTE in the special‑needs scholarship (about $685,000) and 157.1 FTE in the Wisconsin Choice Program (about $1.8 million), yielding just under $2.5 million in voucher‑related expense the district must budget and typically levy for.

Viramontez urged multi‑year budgeting and better forecasting tools for 4K and voucher‑driven changes, and recommended the board use enrollment projections and outreach to families to manage long‑term fiscal risk. The presentation was informational; the committee did not take formal action on the report.