DeKalb CUSD 428 proposes strategic 2026–27 tentative budget: Planned reserve drawdown directs $3.5M toward new early learning center without added debt
The tentative budget for the 2026-2027 school year was presented at the August 4, 2026, Board of Education meeting. The annual process outlines the District's financial profile, including a 3.9/4.0 recognition score from the Illinois State Board of Education, indicating robust financial discipline, along with the District’s 16th consecutive year of receiving the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO).
Aligning with the District’s four strategic priorities of Student Achievement, Financial Stability with an Equity Lens, Community Engagement and Marketing, and Human Capital, the annual budget serves as both a planning tool and a guide for monitoring the District’s financial activity throughout the school year. The budget is based on the most accurate available estimates of anticipated revenues and project expenditures at the time it is prepared. Director of Business & Finance, Armir Doka, emphasizes the District’s conservative budgeting practices. “For example, the state hasn’t finalized its evidence-based funding calculations. I’m expecting about $150,000, and that our tier designation will not change,” Doka said. “We haven’t included those funds in the budget yet because it’s not been finalized. We’re very conservative with our budget. We don’t take any speculation, and we wait until the numbers are there.”
2026-2027 Budget Summary
- Planned $3.5 million deficit to allow for FY 2026 costs associated with the construction of the new Early Learning Development Center, which is projected to open with the start of the 2028-29 school year. Financing for the new ELDC building is budgeted at $50.5 million.
- The projected deficit is not structural and allows for the District to utilize its fund balance to avoid incurring any additional debt throughout the construction phase.
- Includes roughly $163.5 million in revenue and $166.9M in expenditures.
- Expenditure increases:
- Benefits - expected at 10%
- Transportation Rate – 4%
- Food Service Rate – 4.1%
- Crossing Guards Rate – 2%
- Consumer Price Index - currently at 2.7% (a measure of inflation)
- Several State and Federal funding sources are not finalized, but are trending downward
Legal requirements for the District’s budget adoption include finalizing a budget by September 30. Prior to adoption, a school board must place the tentative budget on public display for at least 30 days and conduct a public hearing (planned for the September 15 board meeting). The tentative budget is also available for inspection at the District’s Education Center, 901 S. Fourth Street, DeKalb and online in the August 4 Board of Education meeting agenda.