Superintendent cautions board as legislature advances complex property-tax bill that could reshuffle school funding

Superintendent Dr. Buck told the Waukee Community School District Board of Directors on March 10 that a newly released property-tax bill contains “a lot of complexity” and could change how schools are funded.

The superintendent said the bill would move state dollars into school funding that would backfill local property-tax revenue rather than provide net new money. “We would just need to keep an eye on, that's not increase in funding, that's literally changing out property tax for state funding,” Dr. Buck said, adding that the legislature is scheduling extra committee time to let stakeholders digest the proposal.

Why it matters: the board is finalizing its budget for the coming year and was required to send preliminary information to the county auditor last week. District staff told the board they made assumptions in the taxpayer statement because the Student Success Act (SSA) and other pieces remain unsettled at the statehouse.

Dr. Buck flagged downstream consequences: if the state substitutes state dollars for property-tax revenue now, it could make future proposals to increase school funding more expensive for the state. He cited presentations by tax experts he has followed and said some observers “don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing” until committee work and companion measures settle out.

District staff Sarah (presenter) told the board the document before directors is the district’s portion of the taxpayer statement required by the state (referred to in the meeting as the “house file 718 budget public hearing” or taxpayer statement). She said the packet was submitted to the state last Wednesday, that the statement should arrive in taxpayers’ mailboxes around March 20, and that the district will publish clarifying information on social media and at the public hearing because Department of Management calculations used in the statement may not be fully accurate.

The packet presented to the board proposes maintaining the district’s levy at $17.80 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, while noting that property valuations rising in the district will change individual taxpayers’ bills even if the levy rate is unchanged.

Board action and next steps: the board set a public hearing on the proposed fiscal-year budget for March 31, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. District staff said a fuller presentation by the chief financial officer will follow at that hearing.

The board did not take further direction beyond setting the hearing; Dr. Buck and staff asked the board to monitor how the property-tax bill and SSA evolve during the legislative session.