The Lomira School District held their annual budgeting meetings followed by their regular monthly board meeting on Monday, Oct. 26 starting at 6 p.m.
Dennis Kemmel was nominated and elected as chairman for the 2026 Annual Meeting. Jennifer Drost presented the proposed budget including revenue reports for Funds 10, 21, 27, 39, 49, 50, 72 and 80.
Drost explained how the district is budgeting for a continued drop of 10 students per year for the next several years. “This is not unique to our district,” Drost said. “As of the 2025 school year, 282 districts, about 84% of all school districts, are experiencing declining enrollment.” Several factors play into this decline, including the declining birth rate, populationships, fewer families in the area with school aged children and other educational options such as charter schools and homeschooling.
Fund 10 is their general fund which includes day-to-day operations. As of June 30, 2026, this balance was at $4,039,977.80. This fund is about 26.9% of the anticipated expenditures for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The revenue report for Fund 10 – which consists of fees, tax receipts, admissions, open enrollment, money from local grants, local source and more – anticipates revenue for the 2026-27 fiscal year to be at approximately $15,040,132.
Fund 21 revenues consist of club and athletic fundraisers, registration fees and donations, estimated at $424,796. This number is based on receipts from previous years.
Fund 27 revenues are anticipated to be $1,914,192 and comes from state and federal aid. Unfortunately, this funding falls short to meet the special education needs and higher costs according to Drost. The expected transfer from the current fiscal year to help cover these additional costs are predicted to be $1,165,000, constituting 7.7% of Fund 10 expenditures.
The district’s Fund 39 revenue included tax dollars of $2,798,636 and Fund 46 shows revenues of $135,000 and is comprised over the accrued interest over the fiscal year.
Fund 50 revenues combine various local, state and federal sources. This fund is budgeted at $578,000. Fund 73 shows the accrued interest from over the year of all funds in the amount of $679.
Finally, Fund 80 revenues include receipts from Little Lion’s Rep Care, Little Lion’s Child Care, middle school athletic fees and a tax levy of $235,000, bringing the total of Fund 80 to $839,126.
The grand total of all funds for the 2026-27 fiscal year totals at $21,730.561.00. The School District of Lomira was also one of only 151 out of 421 school districts in Wisconsin to receive additional aid. This School District of Lomira’s equalization aid increased by $108,310 for the 2026-27 school year.
The proposed budget was approved.
Also during the annual meeting, a tax levy of $5,944,771 for the 2026-27 fiscal year was approved. This levy represents a $411 decrease from the 2025-26 fiscal year, bringing the overall mill rate to $6.04 per $1,000 of assessed home value. This is a drop of 97 cents per $1,000, or 13.2%.
This total tax levy is comprised of three primary fund allocations:
Fund 10 - $2,911,170
Fund 39 - $2,768,601
Fund 80 - $235,000
The following items were also approved during the annual meeting:
Authorize Purchase and Sale of Property
Authorize to Purchase, Operate and Maintain Vehicles
Authorize Short-Term Borrowing
Authorize Legal Proceedings
Authorize Transportation of Students
Authorize Salary and Reimbursement of Board of Education Expenses
Authorize Board of Education to Furnish School Lunch Program
The annual meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Next year’s annual meeting is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2027 at 6 p.m.
Regular Board Meeting
Immediately after their annual meeting, the Lomira School District held their regular monthly board of education meeting. After giving their committee reports, the board went on to approve the consent agenda, which consisted of approval of the minutes of the Regular Board Meeting of Sept. 9, approval of the September bills and payroll and the acceptance of two monetary donations. These donations are $3,500 from Gridiron Club and $2,200 from the Booster Club.
The board also approved the tax levy of $5,944,771 at a mill rate of $6.04 per $1,000 for the 26-27 fiscal year, as well as the Little Lions Child Care Center tuition rates for 2027.
The Lomira Board of Education approved the Advanced Placement Washington DC trip for Oct. 2-6, 2027. They also approved the snow plowing bid from Fleischman Excavating Inc. for the 2026-27 school year.
The board accepted a $5,000 donation from Gregory Brasch and will apply it to establish a School District of Lomira Alumni and Community Partners Foundation with the Fond du Lac Area Community Foundation.
They also approved their annual Safety Drills pursuant to Act 143 and the Policy Committee updates from Neola.
The board ended their regular meeting in closed session to discuss a student expulsion abeyance and an IDEA complaint update.
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