Columbia Board of Education passes 2026-27 budget

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education unanimously passed the 2026-27 budget at its meeting on Monday evening.

Previous reporting and a presentation from the district show the operating budget projects $309.8 million in revenue compared with $321.5 million in expenditures, resulting in a planned use of approximately $11.7 million in reserves.

Healthcare costs are rising with the continued funding of medical, dental and life insurance for full-time employees and projected increases in health insurance costs, with medical insurance rising from about $7,956 to $9,552 per employee.

Operating expenditures rose $17.2 million for the upcoming school year from last year.

The largest portion of the operating budget includes special programs at $48.13 million (14.97%). Special programs include summer school, vocational programs, ELL, special education, gifted programs, Title I and alternative education.

The next-highest cost in the operating budget is elementary education at $47.95 million (14.92%).