The Centralia City Schools Board of Education held a budget hearing ahead of its regular meeting on Tuesday for a 2025-26 budget that shows a deficit of approximately $2.7 million. According to superintendent Christina Becker, a large portion of the deficit is due to decreased grant funding and reductions in reimbursements. She says the district will need to review areas of spending and see what changes can be made to have a more balanced budget in the future.
The board heard an audit report from Glass and Shuffett that showed a financial profile score of 3.65, down from 3.9 last year. The reduced score is mainly due to an increased expenditure to revenue ratio. The school is facing decreased revenue due to the loss of ESSER and other grant money. At the same time, the district’s score for long term debt outstanding increased from 3 to 4 as the district continues to pay down its debts. A 3.65 overall score keeps the district above the threshold of 3.54 to maintain recognition status.
The board tabled a motion to renew a natural gas contract with Affordable Gas and Electric, requesting more information on options and pricing for a new contract.
In the superintendent’s report, Becker said that total enrollment at the start of the school year, counting late registrations, is 1010 students. That is close to the number at the same time last year, which was 1005 students. 40 students enrolled qualify for EL services, which is also close to last year’s number.
The board accepted resignations from Luke Hinchee as bus driver, Victoria Rodgers as bus monitor, Amber Schmidt as bus monitor, and Jeremiah Snow as CJHS girls’ softball coach and CJHS girls’ assistant basketball coach.
Letters of intent to retire were accepted from Kelly Schwartz and Laurie Miller, both effective at the end of the 2029-2030 school year.
Janele Giese and Nicole Poore were employed as individual paraprofessionals.
