2025-26 budget: Initial proposal prioritizes Pathways, maintaining services

District 191 Superintendent Dr. Theresa Battle submitted her initial budget proposal for the 2025-26 school year to the Board of Education at its March 13 meeting. Members of the District 191 community are invited to review and provide feedback on the proposal.

Battle noted several factors that are expected to have a major influence on the district’s financial outlook, including a likely reduction in some state aid and an expected decline in enrollment. In response, the proposal includes a mix of reductions, targeted additions and spending from reserves to balance the budget.

The proposal prioritizes maintaining the district’s PreK-12 Pathways model, which last year included the addition of four elementary advanced learning specialists so there would be one full-time position at each elementary school. 

“Thanks to strategic budgeting over the past few years, along with higher than expected enrollment, we’re in a position where we can use some of our savings to continue the important work we’re doing and even make targeted additions where we believe they’ll have the most impact,” Battle said. 

Proposed budget reductions include:

• Maintaining class sizes (match staffing to enrollment)
• Increase secondary walking distance from 1.5 to 2.0 miles
• Increase athletics fees by 15%
• Reduce student services compliance and finance position

Proposed budget additions include:

• Expanding middle school intervention (School Within A School) program
• Targeted support for students transitioning from elementary to middle and from middle to high school
• Additional teaching resources to support multilingual students
• Training to proactively address student behaviors
• Additional educational assistant hours to support technology distribution/collection

Community members can see details and provide feedback on the proposed budget at www.isd191.org/budget or by attending a public presentation on Wednesday, April 16 at 6 p.m. at Diamondhead Education Center, 200 W. Burnsville Pkwy. in Burnsville. 

Board members will review feedback and consider adjustments at a meeting later this spring. The budget will officially be adopted in June. 

Budget Feedback Form