Garden City School Board approves 2025–26 budget and resolutions to exceed revenue-neutral rate and set LOB percentage

The Garden City Board of Education voted Monday to adopt resolutions allowing the district to exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate, to set a local option budget percentage, and to approve the 2025–26 district budget.

Jessica Nothern, chief financial officer, presented the revenue information and the proposed mill levy, saying the proposed combined mill levy is 49.94 mills and that the revenue-neutral rate was 48.203 mills. She said the proposal would generate about $956,000 in additional revenue overall, of which about $169,000 would be a burden to local taxpayers; she also said general-fund revenue would increase by $557,000, capital outlay by $230,000, and the local-option budget (LOB) by $26,000, while bond-and-interest receipts would decline by about $72,000.

The board approved the resolution to exceed the revenue-neutral rate by roll call vote. Board member Perez moved adoption of the resolution; Nathan Heath, Mark Heine, Robin Bergkamp, Andy Ralston, John Lisi and Andy Farmer recorded affirmatives during the roll call.

Nothern also presented the proposed 2025–26 budget and described factors she said guided spending priorities: recruitment and retention (including pay and benefits), professional development and implementation, English-language learner course support, social-emotional curriculum, state assessment support, and the effect of forced transfers and boundary considerations. She reported a current projected enrollment decline of about 120 students based on April 30 figures; using the district’s per-student average revenue of roughly $8,400, she said that decline could translate to a potential loss of more than $1 million.

During public comment, resident Candice (Candy) Camino described a longtime increase in her property tax bill and urged the board to consider taxpayers, saying, “In 2018, when I bought my house, I paid $3,675.17 in taxes. 2024, I paid $6,276.40 of an increase of $2,601.23.”

Board members acknowledged the tax burdens described by Camino, thanked staff for budget work, and repeatedly cited declining enrollment as a central pressure driving budget choices. Several members said building capacity and boundary configurations must be revisited to improve efficiency and reduce taxpayer burdens.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution to exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate (2025–26): Moved by Board member Perez; roll call recorded affirmative votes from Nathan Heath, Mark Heine, Robin Bergkamp, Andy Ralston, John Lisi and Andy Farmer; outcome: approved. - Resolution to adopt the local option budget (LOB) percentage: Moved and seconded during the meeting; outcome: approved. - Approval of the 2025–26 district budget (with authorization to exceed RNR): Moved by a board member based on the building needs assessment and state assessment considerations; outcome: approved.

Board members said health-insurance rates increased modestly (about 2.5 percent), that some textbook/textbook-fund reserves will be used for an English-language-learner curriculum adoption (estimated near $1.5 million to be covered by the textbook fund), and that some one-time obligations (an escrow lease purchase payment and an employer annuity) had been budgeted previously but were not new recurring costs. Nothern also noted staffing changes intended to reduce costs, including reductions in classified positions and one and a quarter administrative positions, and use of long-term substitutes in certified roles.

The board closed both the revenue-neutral-rate hearing and the subsequent budget hearing, and directed that final action on the budgeted items would occur as part of the regular meeting where the motions were carried.