Lawrence school board members on Monday will vote on a maximum mill levy for this year’s budget that would increase property taxes.
The proposed mill levy is 52.252, which is a .042-mill increase over last year’s approved rate of 52.210.
The increase is fairly small, but most property owners saw their assessed valuations increase significantly. The district’s total assessed valuation for the general fund has increased by about 6.7%. The board would have to lower the mill rate to keep taxes flat.
“The board’s proposed budget includes the state-maximum allowable Local Option Budget at 33% of the General Fund, or 14.517 mills; 8 mills for Capital Outlay, and 8.301 mills for Bond and Interest payments on debt services,” according to a news release from district spokesperson Julie Boyle.
The total proposed budget is about $215.7 million.
The district will receive approximately $2 million in additional special education funding from the state this year. In addition, per-pupil funding from the state is increasing to $5,378 from $5,088, or 5.7%.
Once approved, the board can lower tax rates from the maximum mill levy they’ll vote on Monday, but they cannot increase rates beyond that amount.
Here’s the proposed notice the board will consider approving; see the full budget agenda item at this link.
20240825-USD-497-Notice-of-HearingsIn other business:
• The board will consider a number of policy changes as part of its consent agenda, or a list of items that are generally considered routine and approved with one motion unless a board member or the superintendent asks to pull an item for further discussion. One new policy calls for annual evaluations of coaches and sponsors of activities.
• Also on the consent agenda, the board will consider approving an initial year expense of $265,600 for wearable panic buttons for the 16 district buildings that do not yet have the technology in place, including the central administrative offices and the facilities and operations campus. About half the cost will be covered by Safe Schools Grant funds; the rest will come from the district’s capital outlay fund.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26 at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive. The board’s public budget hearings will be held Monday, Sept. 9.
Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs, via go.boarddocs.com.
To give public comment during the board meeting, sign up before the meeting starts either in person or by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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