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Papillion La Vista board previews 2025-26 budget, recommends 4.2% tax revenue increase
Summary
District staff outlined the proposed 2025-26 budget and tax timeline, describing a 2.6% overall budget authority increase, proposed fund transfers for technology, and a recommended 4.2% increase in property tax revenue request subject to upcoming hearings.
Papillion La Vista Community Schools staff presented a proposed 2025-26 budget and tax-request timeline Monday night, recommending a 4.2% increase in property-tax revenue requests and a 2.6% rise in overall budget authority from $165,550,716 to $169,816,374.
The budget presentation, made during the district's public budget hearing, explained how the district will use eight funds including the general fund, depreciation, bond, special building and others; staff said the district plans to transfer $1,250,000 from the general fund to the depreciation fund to support ongoing technology replacement. District staff estimated revenues and expenditures near $154 million within the larger $169.8 million authority and said preliminary property valuations rose about 7.6%, driven by commercial and residential development.
Because the district's fiscal year runs Sept.1–Aug.31, the administration outlined the timeline for tax and budget actions: publication of the tax request in the Sarpy Times on Sept.17; the Sarpy County joint tax hearing at Bellevue University on Sept.18 at 6:30 p.m.; a district tax hearing before the Sept.22 board meeting; submission of the budget to the Nebraska Department of Education, the county clerk and the state auditor on Sept.23; and a formal tax-request resolution on Oct.13 based on board decisions and hearing outcomes.
Why this matters: the budget covers core operations, capital needs and new openings. Staff said labor and personnel account for about 85% of district spending; they estimated an average labor-package increase of about 4% for 2025-26 and a 5.4% rise in health-insurance costs. The presentation also listed several cost drivers for the coming year: a new school opening in August 2025-26, operation costs for a new Young Adult Transition Program (YATP) building, expanded transportation routes (two additional bus routes tied to a roadway widening), increased Tier 3 alternative-school costs, and curriculum and technology price increases.
District staff reported a $550,000 loss in Title funding in 2024-25 and said some federal program dollars remain uncertain; staff estimated those federal dollars average around $4 million per year but cautioned funding can fluctuate. Bond- and building-related budgets were discussed separately: staff recommended an $18.5 million allocation for bond principal and interest this year and proposed a $68,875,000 special-building budget to continue work on the 23 bond projects approved by voters in May 2023.
Board members asked clarifying questions during the presentation; administration said the recommended tax requests will be finalized after the public hearings. Superintendent Andy Brickley noted the district is seeing the first state-aid increase in some time (staff cited a 2.75% state-aid increase), which removes the district from the equalization formula that previously reduced aid when valuations rose. Administration said last year the district lost $7.6 million in state aid, which had placed pressure on local property-tax owners.
Next steps: the administration will publish the tax request materials and attend the county joint tax hearing on Sept.18; the district's own tax hearing is scheduled for Sept.22 prior to the regular board meeting when the board is expected to act on the budget and tax request.
