BDUSD Annual Budget Hearing October 26, 2026

The Beaver Dam Unified School District held its annual budget hearing on October 26, 2026, to review the proposed 2026–27 budget ahead of adoption later that evening. The administration presented a balanced budget of $43,613,987 and recommended a total tax levy of $21,684,328, producing a preliminary mill rate of $7.37, up 6.81%. The proposed levy includes $13.662 million for Funds 10 and 38, $600,000 for Fund 80 community programming, and $7.4 million for Fund 39 referendum debt, including an anticipated payment for the middle school referendum’s final borrowing. No budget or procurement vote was recorded during the hearing; levy certification to municipalities was scheduled by November 3.

Discussion covered enrollment and state aid changes, voucher-related costs, and expenditures, including approximately $9.3 million for special education. The district noted that special education purchase-service costs include placements at alternative schools, whose charges vary, and that transportation and food-service contracts are among general fund service expenses; no contract awards or purchasing decisions were presented. The district also reviewed the middle school referendum’s borrowing to date—$27 million in February 2025 and approximately $71 million in April 2026—and said its current estimated mill-rate impact was $0.61, below the previously stated maximum impact of $1.20.