By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Numbers get tricky when it comes to school districts and the revenue-neutral rate. It's no secret that property valuations across the state have skyrocketed in recent years. That means taxing entities must lower their mill levies to remain revenue neutral, or collect the same or fewer tax dollars than the year before. Assistant Superintendent John Popp said districts are statutorily required to levy 20 mills for their general fund.
"The revenue-neutral rate would be 18.516 mills, but we don't have the option to drop that," he said. "We have to put the 20 mills, so we'll go from generating $3.125 million to $3.272 million. It's an increase of about $146,000 dollars."
The school district has a 3-part budget. The revenue-neutral rate for the local option budget is 15.58 mills. The board will vote on a mill levy of 15.166 mills in September. The revenue-neutral rate for capital outlay is 7.369 mills, but the district is again asking for eight mills, which would generate approximately $200,000 more than last year. In all, the mills levied would generate approximately $45,000 more than last year, but $25,000 less where the district has control.
"We're generating more overall, but in the ones we actually have control over, we're actually generating a little bit less dollars - five million to 4.99 million. We're actually just a little bit down on the actual money we're generating from last year, but we're still exceeding the revenue-neutral rate."
Board Member Deanna Essmiller did ask why the district is budgeting more than $9.9 million in capital outlay if it plans to spend only $3.14 million in the next school year, or why the food service line also includes a similarly inflated figure. Popp explained the district does not intend to use the full amounts but must budget for the extra dollars in case they are needed.
Superintendent Khris Thexton said that because of its budgeting, the district has been able to complete projects like the Panther Athletic Center at Great Bend High School, the add-on at Great Bend Middle School, and the Support Services Building on East 10th. Popp said there are always more projects that need to be done.
"We are within our budget authority, we're limiting these taxes to small amounts to be able to accomplish some of the things," Popp said. "The fact of the matter is, if we want to move sixth grade to the middle school, we'll never be able to save up enough money to do that. If we want to truly build tornado shelters at every elementary, we'll never be able to save up enough money to do that. These projects we've been able to do have been massive helps, but it was because there was a building available, or we fell into it at the right time. You want to have the money like this so you can take advantage of those things when they come up."
In terms of food service, Thexton said it is recommended to keep three months of funding on hand in case of an emergency, such as equipment replacement. Even the rising cost of food can drastically impact the budget.
"She keeps a little extra because of not knowing what food prices are going to do," said Thexton. "Even when companies put bids on food, it doesn't necessarily hold that price. If the cost goes up, we still have to pay that additional cost."
The board took no action on the budget Monday evening. USD 428 will hold its revenue-neutral hearing before its regular September meeting on Sept. 8 at 5:05 p.m., 1809 24th Street in Great Bend.