2026 BUDGET

Center Grove takes our role as stewards of your taxpayer dollars very seriously and is committed to financial transparency.

Center Grove Schools Financial Highlights

Balanced budget
2025 Pay 2026 Certified Assessed Value $4,754,152,677 (10.52 percent increase)
2025 Pay 2026 Property Tax Rate $1.1044 per $100 of assessed value
Bond Rating AA+
Teacher Salary Range $47,800 - $92,800
Number of students: 9,660 (Fall 2026 ADM Estimate)
Number of employees: 1,220, Full-Time; 326, Part-Time
Number of buildings: One high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools; 7 non-school buildings

School Funding in Indiana

The current budget structure was adopted by the state of Indiana for 2019 school budgets. That structure includes three major funds, as noted on the tabs on these pages: Education Fund, Operations Fund, and Debt Service Fund.
Each of these funds has its own set of rules controlling what they can be spent on, how much revenue will be received, how they can be changed, etc.
Each of these funds acts as if it were in its own “buckets” (see illustration). We have limited ability to move expenses or revenues between funds.

2026 BUDGET

INTRODUCTION

The budget will be voted on by the school board on October 20, 2025.
These budgets are all based on the calendar year: January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.
This adoption process is guided by rules established by the State Board of Accounts and the Department of Local Government Finance.

Activity Timeline

2026 BUDGET PREPARATION SCHEDULE

Scheduled	Actual
March 15, 2025	3/15	Submit ADM estimate to the State
April 15, 2025	4/15	First draft of staffing decisions made by Superintendent’s Cabinet and the Board
June 30, 2025	6/30	General Fund Revenue projections available
July 8, 2025	8/23	Business Office review of all budgets completed
July 7, 2025	7/7	First budget draft presented to Superintendent’s Cabinet
August 1, 2025	8/21	Auditor certifies pay-2026 Assessed Values
July 31, 2025	7/31	First day of school for students (original schedule)
August 21, 2025	8/21	Last review of negotiations with Cabinet and the Board
August 29, 2025	8/29	Budgets “closed” for further changes
Aug. 30, 2025	8/30	Budgets (spending plans) transferred into the Gateway system
Sept. 7, 2025	9/4	All state budget forms (draft) entered into Gateway system Final Form 3 Submitted through Gateway Post CPF Plan and Bus Plan on district website and through file transmission in Gateway
Sept. 18, 2025	9/18	Public hearing of the proposed 2026 Budget, Bus Replacement Plan, and Capital Project Fund Plan
Oct. 1, 2025		Official ADM Enrollment Count Day
October 20, 2025		Proposed 2026 Budget, Bus Replacement Plan, and Capital Asset Plan adopted by the Board
October 22, 2025		All final approved budget forms posted in Gateway
December 2025		DLGF provides 1782 draft notice
January 2026		Final 2025 budget received; Transfer Resolution approved by the Board
February 2, 2026		Second ADM enrollment count day

EDUCATION FUND

Purpose:
The Education Fund is used to fund expenses that are tied directly to academic achievement and student support. Expenses include teacher salaries and benefits, other classroom staff salaries and benefits, along with direct and indirect classroom expenditures.

Revenue Sources:
Most of the revenue in the Education Fund comes from the State, through the funding formula.

Property Tax Impact:
No property taxes are used for the Education Fund.

Budget Assumptions

BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS

Revenue Assumptions

Projected enrollment: Increase by 64 students to 9,660
Special Education Projected Pupil Count: Increase count from the prior year, with a decrease in funding per student
Vocational Education: Increase count from the prior year, with a decrease in funding per student
Academic Honors Grant: Decrease in funding per student
Non-English Speaking Program: Increase count from the prior year, with a decrease in funding per student
Summer School: Decrease in funding per student
Curricular Materials: Now included in the Education Fund

Total Funding as follows:

2025 Budget		2026 Budget
Basic Grant Funding:	$77,086,422	Basic Grant Funding:	$80,279,732
		Curricular Materials Funding:	(1,526,280)
All Miscellaneous Revenues:	$207,738	All Miscellaneous Revenues:	$148,578
Transfer to Operations Fund:	-$11,200,000	Transfer to Operations Fund:	-$11,990,000
Total Education Fund:	$65,035,000	Total Education Fund:	$68,440,000

Expenditure Assumptions:

Salary Increase:

Administrators: 2.0%
Teachers: 3.33% (includes Teacher Retention Catch Up)
Support staff: 2.0%

Staff Changes:

Administrators: No change
Teachers: 8 classroom teachers
Support staff: 1 Essential Skills I.A.

Group Health Insurance:

6.40% increase in corporation premiums
1.50% increase in employee premiums

Total Expenses: $68,440,000

Tax Rate/Levy Assumptions:

This fund has no tax rate or levy. It is funded mostly by the state basic grant formula.

Revenue Estimate

Spending Plan

Cash Flow

Miscellaneous

OPERATIONS

OPERATIONS FUND

Purpose:
The Operations Fund is used for equipment, maintenance, construction and repair of buildings, land acquisition, and fees for professional services. This includes many maintenance contracts, and the contract for our copier machines. We also pay more than a million dollars each year from this fund for utilities.

Additionally, the fund includes all previous uses of the Capital Projects, Transportation, and Bus Replacement Fund, as well as all Category 3 (“Overhead”) and Category 4 (“Non-Operational”) expenditures from former General Fund, including salaries & benefits for offices of superintendent, business manager, human resources, custodial, maintenance; insurance and utilities.

Revenue Sources:
More than 99% of the revenue in this fund comes from property tax and other local taxes.

Budget Assumptions

BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS

Revenue Assumptions

Transfer: revenue will come partially from a transfer of $11,990,000 from the Education Fund
Miscellaneous Taxes: FIT, LIT, CVET, and Excise taxes have been increased as we move them from the Debt Service Fund.
Building Rental: revenue is projected about the same as the prior year
Total Revenue: estimated to be $24,160,000

Expenditure Assumptions

Staff changes: No change
Utilities: Decrease by $503,000 due to Guaranteed Energy Savings
Technology and Building Improvement Projects: Expenditures will be partly in CPF and partly in an additional bond issue of $8,000,000 for building projects and technology. More details about expenditures can be found in the list of CPF and maintenance projects.
Bus Plan:
- We have assumed 5% inflation in the cost of buses each year
- Replacement buses needed in 2026 are $1,379,000 to replace 8 buses at a cost of $182,400 each for 78-passenger buses and $98,200 for smaller buses
Gasoline: Decrease by $100,000 for 2026

Total Expenditures

Estimated to be $24,160,000

Tax Rate/Levy Expenditures

Levy: This fund has a maximum levy that increases by a growth quotient every year. We estimate the maximum levy to be $14,557,244 for 2026.

Revenue Estimate

Spending Plan

Cash Flow

Miscellaneous

DEBT SERVICE

DEBT SERVICE FUND

Purpose:
The main purpose of the Debt Service Fund is to make payments on our long-term debt. This accounts for 98% of the expense in the Debt Service fund in 2025. In addition, this fund is used to pay for uncollected textbook rental fees and to pay interest on money we borrow to meet our short-term cash flow needs.

Revenue Sources:
More than 99% of the revenue in this fund comes from property tax and other local taxes.

Property Tax Impact:
There are no limits on the tax rate or levy, but each individual item in the budget for this fund must be approved by the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) on the Debt Service Worksheet submitted to the State. The tax rate tends to fluctuate from year to year. The amount of cash balance in this fund is also controlled by a state formula.

Budget Assumptions

BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS

Revenue Assumptions

The tax rate will be increased to provide funding needed to overcome the revenue lost to tax caps.
The state has developed a formula for determining what our year-end cash balance can be. We have shown this calculation on the Debt Service Worksheet.

Expenditure Assumptions

See DLGF worksheet
Addition of new bonds:
- 2025 G.O. Bonds ($8,200,000) to support CPF and technology projects
- Future Debt ($16,800,000) for the building and miscellaneous project
Approximately $199,600 in interest on Tax Warrants

Tax Rate/Levy Assumptions

All funding comes from local sources.
FIT, CVET, and Excise taxes are projected to be about the same percentage in 2025 as they were in 2024.
The tax rate is computed on State Form 4. The levy will be whatever is required to raise needed revenue.