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Invested in Fiscal Health
Parkway has always been a school district that prioritizes fiscal responsibility and academic excellence.
Parkway maintains a strong financial position, a balanced budget, and a healthy fund balance. But challenges are on the horizon.
In April 2025, we took proactive, short-term measures to balance our current budget by reducing expenditures in some areas, such as supplies and professional development.
Rising Costs and Decreasing Funding
Budgetary pressures from rising healthcare costs and supplies, as well as threats to funding, such as the Senior Citizen Tax Freeze, necessitate that we take steps to protect resources for our staff and classrooms.
Funding not keeping pace
Insurance expenses
Parkway's health care expenses for employees increased by 14% in 2024 and are projected to increase by 17% in 2025.
These record increases reflect a national trend that is expected to continue. As a result, Parkway and our employees are paying a greater cost each year for insurance premiums and medical expenses.
In addition, Parkway is experiencing steep increases in liability and property insurance.
Rising costs of supplies and services
The cost of supplies and services to support our students continues to increase. Our current budget includes an 11% increase in purchased services, such as outsourced service providers, professional development, and food services.
Costs are also rising in the areas of utilities and curriculum.
This resulted in a $2.2 million increase for our 2025-26 budget.
Decrease in funding -
legislative impacts
The Senior Citizen Property Tax Freeze is projected to reduce Parkway funding by $33.6 million over 10 years.
Parkway has a mature population — about 1 in 3 Parkway households have residents who are eligible for the Senior Citizen Property Tax Freeze.
Potential state legislation and federal funding reductions could further impact Parkway funding.
Competitive salaries
Historically, Parkway has attracted high-quality teachers and staff in part because of our competitive salaries and benefits. In recent years, we have been increasingly competing for a smaller share of experienced educators and operations staff.
A competitive labor market and a teacher shortage have made it increasingly necessary to offer attractive compensation.
Why the Budget Task Force was created
Recognizing our financial pressures will continue, Superintendent Dr. Melissa Schneider launched the Budget Task Force in September to bring people together across Parkway —teachers, principals, support staff, administrators, and department leaders.
The purpose was clear: to protect Parkway's future by making thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative decisions about our spending priorities.
What the Task Force did:
Through December 2025, the Budget Task Force:
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Learned how the Parkway Schools budget operates.
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Learned about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of/to the budget.
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Built trust and transparency, educating internal and external stakeholders.
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Made recommendations to the Board of Education regarding the short and long-term health of the budget.
Who was involved:
About 30 Parkway staff members served on the Task Force, representing classrooms, schools, and operations.
This diverse group ensured that the voices of those who know Parkway best — our people — helped shape the recommendations to address our path forward as financial pressures increasingly impact the resources available to support students and staff.
What was recommended:
The Task Force recommended to the Board of Education that Parkway should:
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Maintain a 40-45% fund balance to avoid borrowing money to cover payroll and benefits
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Incrementally increase employee and district healthcare contributions over time
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Identify strategic ways to offset funding losses
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Engage our community in developing long-term solutions
A Shared Commitment
Students thrive
because they have excellent teachers, safe schools, and access to high-quality learning opportunities.
Staff feel supported
and valued for the work they do each day.
The community can trust
that Parkway will protect both the quality of education and the investment residents have made in their schools.