HERMANN – The superintendent of Gasconade County R-1 School District is about to take on a task that he’s unfamiliar with, one that he had hoped to avoid. In the next couple school years, he’s anticipating submitting proposed budgets with red numbers — a result of funding cuts made by the state and the likelihood that property tax revenue will be reduced.

Superintendent Geoff Neill Tuesday morning told his fellow directors of the Hermann Regional Economic Development (HRED) Corporation that he anticipates submitting budgets that won’t have balanced revenues and expenditures. That likely would be for the 2027-28 school year. Neill said that proposed spending plan would be “the first projected deficit budget that I ever presented to a board.”

The R-1 Board of Directors is expected to approve the operating budget for the 2026-27 school year at its June 11 session. The district’s fiscal year mirrors the state fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. This budget will be about $400,000 short of what he had initially projected, he said. When it became clear state funding would be cut, the superintendent began paring expenses in the district.

“We’ve cut nearly every supply budget,” he said.

As for the future school years, Neill said the district should be able to withstand the tight finances. “We’re positioned; we can withstand two to three years of deficit budgets,” he said.

Meanwhile, he explained that the district has started putting to use a portion of the $3.5-million bond issue voters approved in April. The first project is the replacement of the roof on Hermann High School. Other major projects include an upgrade of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems at Hermann Elementary School and repairs and resurfacing of the Hermann Middle School parking lot.

The parking lot project has been sidelined, he said, because of high asphalt prices linked to the cost of petroleum.