Ash Grove R-IV Board of Ed. approves $18.1m budget

The Ash Grove R-IV School Board approved the district’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget during their meeting on Wednesday, June 25. The budget projected revenues of $18,110,071 and expenses of $18,489,287, meaning the district will have a projected deficit of $-379,216.
Revenues
Among the top revenue sources for FY 2026 are about $4.5 million in tax revenue, $4.4 million in money from the state, $7.5 million from the sale of bonds, $810,000 from the federal government, and about $187,000 in earnings combined from deposits and investments.
Expenses
The main expenses for FY 2026 include about $4.4 million for certified salaries, $1.2 million for non-certified salaries, about $1.7 million for benefits, $1.05 million for purchased services, about $1.36 million for supplies, almost $8 million for capital outlay, and about $694,000 for principal, interest and fees.
Bond issue balloons budget, for now
The budget for FY 2023 was almost $9.9 million, in FY 2024, it was about $10 million, and in FY 2025, it was about $9.1 million. The reason the FY 2026 is over $18 million is due to the no-tax-increase bond which was recently approved by voters.
“The budget increased to reflect a 14.17 percent increase in assessed valuation for the district as well as the $7.5 million voter-approved no-tax increase bond issue in April,” said Dr. Shane Medlin, superintendent of schools. “The budget will decrease over the next two years by those bond dollars as construction is completed.”
While the district is deficit spending, Medlin said, there is no shortfall in the budget.
“The district is purposefully spending reserve funds on capital projects for the purchase of an additional school bus, new English-Language Arts Curriculum for Kindergarten through 8th grade students, new middle school math curriculum to align with elementary curriculum, and the purchase of Chromebooks to replace student devices that are aging out after five years of use,” he said. “Ash Grove Schools are growing. We grew by 45 students last year and we expect our enrollment to increase again this year. New students bring additional revenue to the district but also increased expenditures. The district is projected to end the year with an operating fund balance of 35 percent. That is a healthy fund balance while also stewarding our available resources for the needs of our district, students and staff.”
Kehoe boosts funding
Medlin also said actions by Gov. Mike Kehoe have increased the district’s funding.
“Currently, Governor Kehoe has authorized full funding of the Student Adequacy Target (SAT) of $7,145 per student,” he said. “This is an increase of $385 per student and has increased our expected revenue by about $300,000. This commitment is greatly appreciated as the cost of educational supplies, teacher salary requirements, and staff minimum wage guidelines have increased.”
However, Medlin cautioned that the passage of Senate Bill Three could harm the district’s funding.
“There are several factors that could significantly impact Ash Grove and other local districts on the horizon,” he said. “State withholdings or underfunding of the SAT, as well as the proposed county tax credits under Senate Bill Three would negatively impact school budgets, especially schools that have flat or declining enrollment. Another consequential change districts are looking at is the executive order from Governor Kehoe to revamp the educational funding formula.
“There appears to be significant pressure to include charter school and private school allocations in the funding formula that was designed to support public education. The rewriting of this formula will be extremely impactful for Ash Grove and local tax dollars moving forward.  Decreases in funding at the federal and state levels often mean an increased effort at the local level to continue supporting our students at the desired level. Again, I am thankful Governor Kehoe has chosen to invest state dollars into education. Educated and equipped students become citizens who contribute back to our communities and state. I applaud and encourage this continued investment in Missouri’s students.”