The Paola USD 368 Board of Education received a preliminary budget presentation and took several budget-related votes at its meeting, including a decision to notify the county clerk that the district does not intend to exceed the state's revenue-neutral levy.

Jimmy (staff member) presented the district's preliminary tax and budget outlook, saying the district's current preliminary mill levy runs roughly 2.56 mills below the county's revenue-neutral rate and that the district would be "revenue negative" (i.e., below the revenue-neutral threshold) for the coming year. Jimmy said the district's proposed combined levy (including general fund, local option budget and capital outlay) is about 43 mills compared with a revenue-neutral total of 45.58 mills, driven in part by the scheduled payoff of outstanding bonds.

The presentation outlined spending pressures the board will face during the budget process, including: an increase in the district's special education cooperative assessment (Jimmy cited a projected increase of about $295,000), district salary and benefit increases (Jimmy cited roughly $648,000 in projected increases), a bus contract annual increase of about 3 percent (about $38,000), and rising insurance and workers' compensation costs. Jimmy said anticipated state funding increases would provide roughly $495,000 in additional general-fund revenue but would not offset the listed cost pressures.

Jimmy also reviewed statutory timing and notification rules for the revenue-neutral process, including the district's July 20 deadline to notify the county clerk if it intends to exceed the revenue-neutral rate, the 10-day public-notice requirement ahead of the board's budget hearing, and the district's October 1 final budget filing date.

After the presentation, the board voted on several action items connected to the budget presentation:

- Notice of intent: The board approved a notice to the county clerk stating the district does not intend to exceed the revenue-neutral rate and that it will file its budget by October 1, 2025.

- Budget publication: The board approved publication of the estimated levy and budget notice in the district's official newspaper (the Miami County Republican), to satisfy the required public-notice timeline ahead of the August budget hearing.

- Cost-of-living (COLA) authority: The board approved a resolution calling for a November ballot question to allow the district to levy an additional cost-of-living authority up to the statutory percentage (Jimmy said the current eligibility would have translated to about $450,000 in additional operating revenue at 2.7 percent). Jimmy said the proposed COLA action had been protested and therefore will appear on the November ballot.

- Early bond redemption: The board approved a resolution authorizing early redemption of outstanding general-obligation bonds (series 2014, 2016 and 2017). Jimmy said the district currently has approximately $5.3 million in that fund and that the payoff would be about $4.4 million; paying the bonds off will eliminate the bond-and-interest mill levy (reducing the total levy and producing small interest savings Jimmy estimated at roughly $76,000).

Votes on the above items were taken in open session; several votes were unanimous among the seven board members present for those items.

Why it matters: The board's notice to the county clerk and the preliminary mill calculations set the public timetable and parameters for the August budget hearing and the October budget filing. The decision to seek a cost-of-living authority on the ballot is a separate public-policy choice that would increase operating revenue if approved by voters. The early bond payoff will reduce the district's future debt levy but uses available district cash to do so.

Votes at a glance (formal actions recorded in the meeting):

- Notice of intent to not exceed revenue-neutral rate: approved (motion made and seconded; outcome: approved; tally: not specified in transcript).

- Approval of 2025-26 budget publication (estimated mill rates for general fund, LOB and capital outlay): approved (motion made and seconded; outcome: approved; tally: not specified in transcript).

- Resolution calling for cost-of-living authority ballot question (November): approved (motion made and seconded; outcome: approved; recorded as approved by the board; tally recorded in meeting as unanimous for this vote).

- Resolution authorizing early redemption of outstanding series 2014, 2016 and 2017 bonds: approved (motion made and seconded; outcome: approved; tally recorded in meeting as 7 in favor).

- Adoption of KASB policy updates (multiple policy codes listed): approved (motion made and seconded; outcome: approved; tally recorded in meeting as 7 in favor).

What the board said: Jimmy described the major drivers affecting the coming budget: increases in cooperative special-education assessments, salary/benefit pressures, vendor contract increases, and insurance costs. He repeatedly emphasized that the preliminary presentation was intended to set levy and notification decisions and that the board will complete the full budget review at the August meeting.

Background and next steps: By statute the county clerk must receive notice by July 20 if a district intends to exceed its revenue-neutral rate. If the district does not notify the clerk (or notifies the clerk that it will not exceed revenue-neutral), no revenue-neutral hearing is required. The board will publish the notice in the Miami County Republican, hold the budget hearing (scheduled for the district's August meeting) and file the final budget by Oct. 1, 2025. If voters approve the cost-of-living question in November, the district could levy the additional operating authority in subsequent budgets.

Sources: discussion and slides presented by Jimmy (staff member), board motions and roll-call votes during the July meeting, references cited in the presentation (Kansas Department of Revenue, KSDD / Kansas State Department of Education materials, Miami County clerk office).