Gilbert Public Schools' adopted fiscal year 2026-27 budget absorbs a projected loss of 1,200 students while preserving a 3% employee pay increase, maintaining safety staffing and continuing millions of dollars in facility investments.
The governing board unanimously approved the budget June 23 after a presentation by incoming Chief Financial Officer Crystal Zachary, who said the spending plan mirrors the budget previously advertised to the public.
The district expects to revise the budget in the fall to reflect final state funding changes approved after the proposal was published.
The district's maintenance and operations budget capacity is projected at $273.43 million for fiscal year 2027, down from $275.41 million in the fiscal year 2026 revised budget, a decrease of about $1.98 million.
That reduction is driven largely by enrollment. Gilbert projects losing 1,200 average daily membership students, evenly split between kindergarten through eighth grade and high school, resulting in a decline of 1,456 weighted students.
The revenue control limit, which provides the bulk of the district's operating funding, is projected to decrease from $236.98 million to $234.74 million. The 15% voter-approved override increases slightly from $36.21 million to $36.59 million because it is based on the previous year's weighted student count. Proposition 123 and tuition revenue is budgeted at $2.1 million.
Zachary noted that Proposition 123 ultimately was not included in the state's final budget and will require a future adjustment.
"Prop. 123 is one of those pieces that unfortunately did not make it to the final budget and is an item that will have to be adjusted in the next revision," she said.
The budget preserves the board-approved 3% pay increase while absorbing several unavoidable cost increases.
Those include $3.01 million in higher medical insurance premiums, $1.3 million in additional fuel and utility costs, an estimated $1 million loss of safety grant funding and reductions in IDEA funding, and a projected minimum wage increase beginning in January 2027.
Combined with employee raises, the district faced roughly $10.2 million in additional costs.
To offset those increases, Gilbert Public Schools budgeted approximately $7.6 million in savings through staffing reductions tied to lower enrollment, district office reductions, vacancy and turnover savings, and the closure of Pioneer Elementary.
The remaining gap is balanced through one-time maintenance and operations carryforward dollars, Classroom Site Fund contributions and other funding sources.
The Classroom Site Fund continues to play a significant role in balancing the district's finances.
The per-student allocation is projected to increase from $842 to $883, producing a total allocation of $31.41 million compared with $30.96 million in the revised fiscal year 2026 budget.
However, the total Classroom Site Fund budget limit falls from $56.17 million to $54.7 million because the district continues drawing down accumulated fund balances.
During board discussion, Board Member Jill Humpherys asked whether Arizona's strong economy could keep generating enough sales tax revenue to sustain future Classroom Site Fund increases.
Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz said no one can confidently predict that trend.
"So I honestly have no idea," Betz said. "I think that the economy still in Arizona is very good and so sales tax revenues could still continue to grow. It's really unknown though."
The district's unrestricted capital budget also declines year over year while remaining supported by significant carryforward balances.
For fiscal year 2027, unrestricted capital totals about $53.1 million, compared with approximately $63.2 million in the revised FY2026 budget.
The budget includes about $17.5 million in District Additional Assistance formula funding, nearly $34 million in budget balance carryforward and roughly $1.7 million in interest earnings.
Zachary said the district is no longer transferring District Additional Assistance funding into maintenance and operations. Instead, unrestricted capital spending includes approximately $17 million for facility renewal projects while maintaining funding for curriculum, technology, nutrition services, community schools and other operational needs.
The budget also projects the average teacher salary increasing from $68,217 to $70,264, a 3% increase reflecting the board-approved raises.
Because the Legislature finalized the state budget after Gilbert Public Schools advertised its proposed budget, Zachary said several state funding changes could not be incorporated into the document approved June 23.
Among those changes, Proposition 123 funding was not renewed as anticipated, while lawmakers approved one-time District Additional Assistance and free and reduced-price lunch funding that had not been expected.
"The net adjustment between the two is roughly half a million dollars," Zachary said. "So that being said, we will fully expect our revision to come sometime in the fall."
Humpherys said the district's financial condition reflects years of disciplined planning.
"I would have to say I think we are very lucky to be in the position that we are and I think that's taken a lot of hard work over the last nine or 10 years, but we're in a solid financial position," Humpherys said. "I think it shows that when people work together and you talk about how collaborative the decision making is, I think that's a good sign for the district."
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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