Omaha Public Schools proposes $1.34 billion budget, seeks $409.2 million in property taxes; board to consider 4% override

Omaha — Omaha Public Schools on Monday presented a proposed $1,340,000,000 budget for the 2025–26 school year and a combined property tax request of $409,200,000, with district officials asking the Board of Education to consider a resolution to levy an additional 4% in revenue to cover compensation commitments and other costs.

Shane Ryan, who presented the budgets to the board, said the proposal is built from a general fund and 12 other funds and that he would focus the presentation on the four levy funds that drive property tax: the general fund, the bond fund, the special building fund and the Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund. “The $1,340,000,000 budget, proposed budget for Omaha Public Schools is made up of the general fund and 12 other funds,” Ryan said.

The nut of the proposal is a general fund expense budget of $850,000,000 — a $38,000,000 (4.868%) increase from the prior year — and a proposed total property tax request of $409,200,000 that would produce a total levy rate of $1.13 per $100 of valuation, a 2.2-cent increase from the prior year. The district also proposes a 4% board override option authorized under state law that would add roughly $30,100,000 to the base certified property tax request authority, Ryan said.

Why it matters: the budget directs more than 60% of the general fund increase to salaries and benefits to maintain compensation commitments the board approved last year and to sustain recent hiring. Ryan told the board the district added 1,088 staff since Aug. 1, 2024, including 197…