USD 309 board to hold hearings Monday on exceeding revenue-neutral rate, 2026-27 budget

USD 309 patrons get their only formal chance to object Monday, Sept. 14, before the Nickerson–South Hutchinson school board votes on collecting about $997,700 more in property taxes than the revenue-neutral rate for 2026-27. The published notice of hearing puts the proposed levy at $5,938,604 at an estimated 51.405 mills, against a revenue-neutral $4,940,885 at 42.599 mills — the rate that would raise the same number of dollars as last year from this year's property.

The agenda sets the hearing for 6:45 p.m. and calls for public comment and board comment before a recommended roll-call vote to approve exceeding the revenue-neutral rate. Nothing has been decided yet.

The proposed rate is lower than the 53.621 mills the district levied for 2025-26 — what changed is the property underneath it. General fund assessed valuation is up about 30%, from $77,561,613 to $100,933,068, and all-other-funds valuation rose from $100,771,544 to $124,481,162, lifting total collections about 20% above the $4,947,989 levied a year ago. The notice gives no explanation for the valuation increase.

Because the general fund levy is held at 20.000 mills, it would take 15.368 mills to stay revenue neutral in that fund alone, the difference between $1,551,139 and $2,018,661.

At Kansas' 11.5% residential assessment rate, the owner of a $150,000 home has $17,250 in assessed value, and the 8.806-mill gap between the proposed and revenue-neutral rates works out to about $152 a year before any homestead exemption is applied.

Hutchinson's USD 308 adopted a 51.364-mill levy for 2026-27 in late August, within a few hundredths of a mill of what USD 309 is proposing.

A second hearing, at 6:50 p.m., covers the proposed 2026-27 budget, which sets total expenditures at $24,264,495, up from the $22,536,092 actually spent in 2025-26. The notice does not say what drives the increase. The board is asked to adopt that budget later in the meeting, under new business.

Also under new business, the board is asked to set the local option budget — the locally levied supplement to state base aid, carried in the supplemental general fund — at 33%, the maximum allowed by state law, with that fund budgeted at $3,081,223 and $1,618,289 to be levied at 13.000 mills, down from 15.321.

Capital outlay is set at 8.000 mills and $1,006,462, with budgeted spending falling from $1,699,799. Bond and interest holds at 10.405 mills and $1,295,192 against outstanding general obligation debt of $6,185,000 as of July 1, 2026, down from $6,910,000 a year earlier.

The board is asked to approve property insurance through EMC with Fee Insurance on a nine-month, October-through-June policy. An administrative note in the agenda says the policy term is shifting to a July 1–June 30 year and that the change leaves the cost roughly $40,000 below a full-year term despite a 2.3% rate increase, though the note does not give the premium.

Principals' reports in the board packet put South Hutchinson Elementary at 288 students, down from 307 at the start of last school year, with the closure of SHASK before- and after-school care cited as affecting about 15 students and 21 students returning to home districts or moving away. The reports list Reno Valley Middle at 118 students, Nickerson Elementary at 174, down from 176, and Nickerson High at 242, up from 235.

Both hearings come ahead of the regular 7 p.m. meeting at the district office, 4501 W. Fourth in Hutchinson, where monthly bills and a consent agenda of minutes, treasurer's and activity fund reports and personnel moves are also up for approval.

According to the open forum guidelines published with the agenda, patrons who want to speak should contact the district office in advance or register with the clerk of the board before the meeting begins, and the board president has the option to set a time limit, typically three to four minutes.

The resolution packet carries yes-and-no boxes for all seven members — Brent Engelland, Gordon Roth, Jeremy Schmidt, Ryan Potter, Matt Nisly, Stephanie Tucker and Lorna Geist — so each vote on exceeding the revenue-neutral rate would be recorded by name.

This article was written using our proprietary AI system, Cronkite. The final decision to publish this article was made by a human. For more info, read our AI policy.

Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:

Contact Us