Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board authorizes additional property-tax request authority and renews Holiday Express transportation routes
Summary
The board approved a resolution authorizing access to an additional 5% property-tax request authority under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-3405 and approved transportation routes and contract renewals with Holiday Express for the 2025–26 school year
The Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education on Aug. 14 approved a resolution authorizing the district to access an additional 5% property-tax request authority under state law and approved transportation-route renewals with Holiday Express for the 2025–26 school year.
Property-tax authority: Virgil Harden presented the statutory background on Nebraska’s property-tax request authority (listed in the meeting as Nebraska statute 79-3405). Harden said the district’s total revenue cap figure cited in the Department of Education materials was $140,356,285 and that the proposed resolution would authorize access to $6,784,181 of additional tax-request authority should the board and administration need it. Harden and staff said prior practice is to authorize the additional percentage as a “safety net” and that adopting the resolution does not set a levy or obligate the district to use the additional authority.
“...the additional 5 percent resolution that we’ll be asked to pass an action item later this evening would be a resolution that would authorize access to $6,784,181 worth of additional tax request authority. It does not set the levy. It does not set the taxation. It just gives us access to use it if we need it,” Harden said.
The board voted to approve the property-tax authorization resolution; the motion passed.
Transportation routes and contract renewal: District staff also presented the annual transportation routes document tied to the district’s multiyear agreement with Holiday Express for student transportation. Staff described a routine renewal with a 2% contract-rate increase overall and no major route changes compared with the prior year. The board approved the routes and contract renewals for the 2025–26 school year by motion; the motion passed.
Why it matters: Authorizing additional tax-request authority preserves the district’s option to request more property-tax revenue in future budgets within state limits. Renewing the Holiday Express contract and routes finalizes transportation planning and associated budget assumptions for the coming school year.
Votes at a glance: The board voted to: approve the 2025–26 transportation-route renewals and contract terms with Holiday Express (motion passed); approve the resolution authorizing access to the additional 5% property-tax request authority under statute (motion passed). The transcript records motions and seconds and records that the motions passed; individual roll-call tallies were not provided in the public portion of the transcript.
Ending: Staff said staff will return to the board with final budget and valuation numbers when adopted; the motion to authorize access to additional tax-request authority does not itself change the current levy.
