Editor

The Van-Far R-I School District Board of Education approved adopting the 2025-26 budget at its June 19 meeting.

Also looking ahead into the 2025-26 school year, the district will increase its base pay for teachers.

Superintendent Natalie Gibson said the district’s current revenue budget is $9,209,067, with expenditures anticipated to be $9,086,894. 

“The ASBR will be available soon with final numbers from last year with carry-over amounts that will add to our revenue balances,” she said in an email to the Ledger. ASBR is the Annual Secretary of the Board Report.

A budget report stated that in total, local revenue comprises 53% of the overall district budget.

“Our assessed valuation increased by 43% last year with the recent solar projects in the area and we are hopeful this new AV will remain stable for the coming years,” the budget report stated. “The district will continue to monitor proposed legislation for changes to local taxes and impact the district would sustain.”

Local revenue sources include real estate and property taxes, surtax, interest on cash assets, student meals and activities and state-assessed fines and utilities, according to the budget statement. 

“Collectively, local and city revenues total 60% of our district budget,” the budget statement said. 

Base pay for teachers in the district will be $41,400, as the district added $1,400 to the base, with the state expectation being $40,000, according to the budget statement. The district also increased the base pay of all non-certified positions to $15 per hour, an increase from $13.65 the previous year.

“One of the things that I think that we as a district should be proud of is that we are financially stable and so we were able to do that 7% WADA (weighted average daily attendance) transfer that’s available for capital projects again this year,” Gibson told the Ledger in an interview. “And so along with your budget, you have to make a list of projects you hope to use those funds for. And so our amount was $258,211, and so the board did approve for that transfer to occur.”

Gibson said she and Ryan Morris, district maintenance director, are putting together a list of projects they hope to move forward with.

Lunch prices will rise for the upcoming school year - a dime for elementary school and a quarter for the high school. Breakfast price for all students, K-12, will be $1.90 - it was $1.85 last year - and elementary lunches will be $2.40 and high school lunches will be $2.75. Gibson said she is still working on a Community Eligibility Provision program in which elementary students can eat breakfast and lunch for free, as she is finalizing documentation.

The district has hired an individual, a part-time position, for the rootEd grant program in which the person will help high school seniors as they make transition from school to graduation and post-graduation. The board approved some stipends for some district staffers: building secretaries, professional development committee members and assistant coaches.

Gibson said the district still has some positions to fill, including a music teacher for grades seven through 12 and a district tech director.