Gilbert Public Schools approves second budget revision after enrollment rebound

By Tom Blodgett
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Gilbert Public Schools governing board members approved the district’s second budget revision for fiscal year 2025-26, reflecting higher-than-anticipated enrollment, increased spending capacity and updated teacher salary calculations.

The revision adjusts the district’s financial plan after enrollment losses came in significantly lower than projected, resulting in millions of dollars in additional budget capacity.

The governing board unanimously approved the second budget revision.

When the district adopted its original budget, it anticipated losing about 1,300 students based on shrinking cohorts. Instead, the district lost 777 students — a difference of 523 students that increased average daily membership and weighted student count.

The weighted student count increased from the adopted budget by 732 students, a key factor in determining state funding and overall budget capacity. Weighted student count is a funding formula that assigns higher financial value to certain students based on educational needs — such as special education, poverty or English language learner status — rather than just raw enrollment numbers.

District leadership credited school-level efforts and academic performance for helping retain and attract students.

“We’re expected automatically to lose 1,300, but we attracted back 523 students, which I think is a big celebration associated with our budget,” Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz told the board.

The higher student counts increased the district’s revenue control limit by $4.83 million compared with the adopted budget.

The revised maintenance and operations budget reflects several changes, including updated tuition estimates and finalized state funding figures.

The district’s budget balance carryforward increased by $2.75 million based on final fiscal year 2024-25 spending.

Additionally, updated state guidance on Proposition 123 and free and reduced-price lunch funding added $2.9 million that had been entered as zero during the adoption process.

Altogether, the district reported a $7.48 million increase from the originally adopted budget and a $4.44 million increase over the first revision to $290.3 million.

A governing board member noted the significance of the change.

“I have to say that is quite an accomplishment that we have this increase because I’m used to looking at numbers where we’ve got to figure out how to make that cut to make the budget balance,” Board Member Jill Humpherys said.

The district also revised its unrestricted capital budget capacity.

Officials removed a previously planned $3 million transfer to maintenance and operations, allowing those funds to remain in capital accounts to maximize interest earnings.

Interest income exceeded expectations. The district had anticipated earning $1.3 million but reported $1.74 million in interest year to date — an increase of $440,000.

“This is a celebration here,” Finance Director Jackie Mattinen said when presenting the updated interest earnings.

The capital budget balance carryforward increased by $11.7 million, reflecting final spending from fiscal year 2024-25, much of which had already been budgeted and used for summer operations projects.

Overall, the unrestricted capital budget was revised to $63.64 million, an increase of $15.65 million from the adopted budget.

The revision also includes updated information on career and technical education funding. The district reported $974,000 in revenue received to date for the current fiscal year and incorporated that amount along with carryforward funds into the revised budget.

Board members also approved an updated average teacher salary figure, as required each year after October staffing data is finalized.

Although the district approved a 2.5% pay increase, the recalculated average teacher salary reflects a 1.03% overall increase compared with last year. Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz said turnover — including retirements of more experienced, higher-paid teachers and the hiring of newer educators — affects the districtwide average.

“It’s really important that we share that because we gave a 2.5% pay increase,” Betz told the board, emphasizing that returning teachers received the full increase.

She added that turnover savings can benefit the district long term.

“In many ways, this has a really positive impact on Gilbert Public Schools because the money that we achieve in turnover savings is money that’s ongoing that is able to be put back into our system for increased pay increases in the future,” she said.

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Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

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).