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USD 443 adopts resolution authorizing levy that exceeds revenue-neutral rate after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing in which residents urged the district not to collect more property tax dollars, the USD 443 Board of Education adopted a resolution authorizing a levy that will exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate for the 2025–26 budget, voting 4–0 to adopt the resolution and move forward with the published budget process.
The USD 443 Board of Education adopted a resolution authorizing a property tax levy that exceeds the revenue-neutral tax rate as part of the district’s fiscal-year 2025–26 budget process during a public meeting on Sept. 8, 2025. The board voted 4–0 to adopt the resolution after hearing public comment and a staff explanation of the rule that triggered the hearing.
The revenue-neutral hearing is required under state statute and gives members of the public an opportunity to speak before the board takes action. Superintendent Mr. Scheck told the room the district is not increasing the mill rate but that county appraiser valuations have risen, which means the district will collect more tax dollars even with a flat mill rate. The board cited KSA 79-2988 in the resolution and noted the required public notice appeared in the Dodge City Daily Globe on Aug. 28, 2025.
During public comment, two residents urged the board not to allow the district to collect additional tax dollars. One speaker told the board, “Our property is not your piggy bank. … Every dollar that is taken from us further reduces the legacy that we can leave to our children and our grandchildren.” A second speaker described long-term financial strain on farmers and property owners, saying, “I’m kinda tired of paying property taxes. It’s perpetual economic income warfare on us.” Both remarks were offered during the hearing portion of the meeting and therefore recorded as public comment.
Following public comment, board members discussed the matter. A board member noted the district had lowered the mill levy by nine mills in the prior year and emphasized that the district was not raising the mill rate for 2025–26. The motion to adopt the resolution was made and seconded, and the board took a roll-call vote: the motion passed 4–0.
The board then opened (and later closed) a separate public hearing on the full fiscal-year budget, which lists a total mill levy of 47.926 mills for 2025–26 as published. The board later took action to adopt the budget (see separate article). The resolution adopting authority to levy in excess of the revenue-neutral rate was presented as Resolution No. 202500908 and adopted on Sept. 8, 2025.
The meeting record shows the progression: required public notice and hearing, public comment, superintendent explanation of the distinction between mill rate and total tax dollars, and a formal board resolution citing KSA 79-2988. The board’s action authorizes the district to levy as described in the adopted resolution; it does not change the district’s stated mill rate for 2025–26.
