The district is in pretty good shape budget-wise, Superintendent Dr. Wes Davis told Board of Education members during their regular session meeting June 23.
Presenting the 2026-27 academic year budget for approval, Davis explained the district will continue to tighten its financial belt by deferring facility improvements in the near future and extending long-term maintenance rotations, such as parking lot resurfacing.
Capital assets and technology purchases — including student Chromebooks — are also being scaled back. Because state funding relies heavily on average daily attendance and enrollment metrics, administrators are monitoring local student numbers very closely, Davis noted.
The most recent high school graduating class was larger than usual with 299 students, Davis added, meaning their departure will create an enrollment deficit in the fall compounded by a simultaneous decline in incoming preschool and kindergarten enrollment.
To balance the personnel expenses against the shrinking student population, the district has kept staffing costs in check by eliminating positions to match the drop in enrollment. Over the last four years, the district has reduced 25 full-time certified and non-certified positions, a strategy Davis said will remain under consideration moving forward.
On a positive note, an increase in summer school enrollment led to a corresponding boost to student attendance hours. Those hours count toward directly toward state funding metrics, yielding about $8,000 in state reimbursement revenue per student.
Regarding the decline in enrollment, board member Sam Riggs that localized drops match a broader national trend, noting that birth rates have been in a general decline for years. Davis agreed, noting the issue is “not just a West Plains thing.”
For the fiscal year ending in June, the district logged about $37.79 million in total revenues against expenditures of about $35.42 million. Davis informed the board the district that expense rollbacks enacted since December have enabled the district to begin putting surplus funds into financial reserves.
The detailed 2026-27 budget was engineered around the permanent sunset of supplemental federal COVID-19 relief funds, marking a complete institutional return to traditional, pre-pandemic funding models.
Local administrators are also navigating several moving targets on the state and federal levels. State lottery revenues allocated to the district decreased by about $70,000, and state pupil transportation reimbursements were reduced by 5.5%, translating to a $10,000 loss.
In addition, federal early childhood special education reimbursement funding routed through the state remain uncertain. Davis reported receiving an an email indicating those payments would be either pro-rated, delayed or canceled due to lack of state-level funding. In response to an inquiry from board member Shealia Harper regarding the potential impact, Davis estimated the vulnerable funding total sits between $50,000 and $70,000.
Other Business
The board approved updated salary schedules, authorizing the standard vertical and horizontal step increases for qualifying staff members. Financial incentives for personnel acting as athletic coaches, club sponsors and leaders of other extracurricular activities will continue.
Breakfast and lunch prices were set. Rates for reduced-price meals remain unchanged at 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch. Standard student and adult meals will increase by 10 cents. Regular student breakfast will be $2.35 and lunch will be $3.40, while adult breakfast is set at $2.60 and lunch at $3.75.
