Pam Kelly, the district's director of finance, presented the Derby Board of Education with a proposed 2025-26 budget totaling $154,752,309 and outlined a schedule for publication and hearings ahead of a formal vote.
Kelly said the district submitted the budget for review and reminded the board that "Kansas law requires us to put a maximum on all funds," meaning the estimated expenditures shown provide budget authority and allow for emergency spending. She told members that state aid increased 4.4% and that the district's proposed local option budget (LOB) rate is set at 31 percent compared with a state average of 32.3 percent. The proposed mill levy is 57.491, a 0.144-mill decrease, she said.
Kelly also warned that several federal Title programs are under review and "may reduce or eliminate funding for our current year." She said the Derby Recreation Commission (DRC) is finalizing its budget, which will be included once available, and that an updated budget reflecting the DRC will be brought back at the board's Aug. 4 meeting. Publication of the notice to exceed the revenue-neutral rate and the budget is scheduled in the Derby Informer on Aug. 13, with hearings on both the revenue-neutral-rate exceedance and the budget set for 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 8.
No board vote to publish or to adopt the budget occurred on July 21; Kelly asked trustees to review materials and submit questions before the Aug. 4 meeting when the board will be asked to approve publication.
Why this matters: the budget sets spending authority and the mill levy affects taxpayers; federal and state funding changes could alter program budgets and services.
The presentation included details on petty cash and informal campus change funds, and Kelly said reimbursements are handled through accounts payable rather than petty cash. She invited trustees to contact her with questions before the August meeting. The board did not take final action on the budget at the July 21 meeting and will consider publication and the formal exceedance hearing at the Aug. 4 meeting.