We’re sure there were many Warren County residents who read last week about the school districts’ $2.9 million budget gap between projected revenues and expenses in the 2026-27 budget proposal and wondered how that was possible after closing two high schools in 2025.

The answer is the gap would have been closer to $5 million if the school board hadn’t made the difficult decision to close Youngsville and Sheffield high schools. The district is saving roughly $2 million a year by closing the schools – which means the task of balancing the 2026-27 budget between now and May would have been herculean rather than merely difficult.

The fact that a budget gap still exists isn’t proof that the school board made a bad decision by closing schools. To the contrary, it’s proof the district took a first, and necessary, step toward balancing the school district’s budget by making a difficult but necessary series of cuts. It’s called living within one’s means.

Closing schools was never the only step that needed to be taken. It was just a controversial first step. The school board needs to find a way to decrease health insurance costs that increased 23% in the 2025-26 budget and are projected to increase another 11.79% in the 2026-27 budget. District administration needs to be examined, as was suggested by board member Tammi Holden, who pointed to the district’s $4,056,733 in administrative salaries while pushing for “a pound of flesh from the central office.”

It would be nice if additional state aid would lessen the number of cuts the district is going to make, but no one should look at the recent history of state budget discussions and expect either an on-time budget or a massive influx of money to schools. That means Warren County must make the necessary cuts to its budget to balance the spending plan. Taxpayers – particularly those hit hard by the 2025 countywide property reassessment – can’t bear the brunt of a large tax increase.

The decision to close schools was unpopular, but necessary. We’re seeing the proof of that this year. Buckle up, because more unpopular decisions are coming this spring.