Olathe officials propose FY26 budget notices; district forecasts enrollment decline and lower state aids

District finance staff presented key assumptions for the fiscal 2026 budget and asked the board to publish two required notices: one to consider exceeding the revenue‑neutral rate and one to publish the FY26 budget hearing. John Hutchison reviewed enrollment, revenue and levy assumptions and said the district is facing lower state aid in some areas and a modest net increase in base funding. Hutchison told the board the district estimates a reduction of about 184 full‑time‑equivalent students and projected FTE funding of about 27,248. He said base state aid increased by $237, to $5,615 per pupil. By contrast, he said special‑education reimbursement is estimated to fall from about $30,815 to $29,600 next year. Hutchison said the district lost state bond‑and‑interest aid (about $3 million) and capital‑outlay state aid (about $1.5 million) because local home values exceeded the state threshold. He also said BOTA (bond and other temporary authority) is in decline, reducing local authority by roughly $4 million; the district expects about $2 million in BOTA next year. On levies, Hutchison said the general mill levy is statutorily fixed at 20 mills. He proposed keeping capital outlay at 8 mills and noted the board’s other levies are set at available authority; overall the proposed combined levy would decrease by about 1.288 mills and the proposed total rate would be about 61.91 mills compared with a revenue‑neutral rate of 59.602 and last year’s actual 63.198 mills. Hutchison asked the board to approve publication of the hearing notices; the board approved the procedural motions to publish the notices for the August hearing. He acknowledged budget staff and said the board will consider final adoption of the FY26 budget at its September meeting after members have time to review the full packet. Board members asked about the timing and statutory constraints on the budget process; Hutchison described the state’s schedule and the added 30‑day notice requirement tied to the revenue‑neutral calculation. The board did not adopt the budget tonight; it authorized publication of the required notices.