Shawnee Mission staff outline $618.2 million budget, say proposed mill levy will slightly exceed revenue-neutral rate

Russell M., chief financial officer for Shawnee Mission Public Schools, told the Finance & Facilities Committee that the district will take two public hearings on Monday: the revenue-neutral rate hearing and the budget hearing, and that the proposed 2025–26 budget totals about $618,200,000. "We are at the conclusion of the approval process come Monday night. We will have our revenue neutral rate hearing and our budget hearing followed with, 3 action items that will be presented to the board," Russell said.

The district reported an ending fund balance of roughly $49,600,000 for fiscal 2024–25, representing about 18.5% of expenditures, above the district policy DBB target range of 10%–15%. Russell said staff plan a targeted deficit spend of about $4,500,000 in 2025–26 to boost salary packages, which would reduce reserves to roughly $45,000,000 (about 15.6% of expenditures) but still leave a cushion for potential federal funding disruptions.

Why it matters: the committee was briefed that the proposed mill levy calculation will exceed the county's revenue-neutral rate by a small margin. Melissa Rooker, the Shawnee Mission East-area representative, clarified the public-facing numbers: "If you look at the very bottom line, that is the total amount, 30.835 mills," (referring to a particular component line in the mailed notices) and the overall mill levy the district will request is 50.835 mills. County-calculated revenue-neutral rate cited to the committee was 48.525 mills; the staff presentation shows Shawnee Mission's total levy at 50.835 mills, meaning the district will exceed the revenue-neutral rate and thus hold the required hearing Monday.

Budget details and constraints presented to the committee included: - Proposed 2025–26 budget: approximately $618,200,000. - Assessed valuation increase used in budget assumptions: 5.6%. - Proposed total mill levy in the budget presentation: 50.835 mills; county revenue-neutral calculation cited at 48.525 mills. - 2024–25 closing: revenues exceeded expenditures by about $8,000,000; ending balance about $49,600,000 (18.5% of expenditures). - Planned deficit spend in 2025–26 to increase compensation: about $4,500,000, lowering the balance to roughly $45,000,000 (about 15.6% of expenditures). - Local Option Budget (LOB) authority is budgeted at the 33% cap established by voter approval in February 2015. - Capital outlay levy is at the statutory maximum of 8 mills.

Russell and other staff explained the trade-offs the district is managing: the board wants to improve compensation to attract and retain staff, but the district also budgets conservatively for a recurring vacancy trend (roughly 200 vacancies at times during the year) that produces an anticipated payroll recapture (vacancy savings) called "recapture/fallout" in the budget. Russell said salary increases shown on the slides constitute pay and health-insurance increases; positions added earlier in the budget were already built into the May budget and are part of the $4.5 million figure.

Committee members also heard reminders about public process: the notice of hearing has been published, mailed notices went out via the county after July 20, and the district has posted an explainer on the district website under the Budget and Finance tab for residents to review before Monday's hearings.

Less-critical details: the staff presentation referenced several restricted or policy-driven mill-levy components (20 mills tied to the general fund under state law, LOB at 33%, capital outlay at 8 mills, a $2,000,000 target special-liability balance). Staff also noted the district insures roughly $11.2 billion of property value and cited an approximate total building valuation of $1.1 billion when discussing capital needs.

The committee had no formal vote during this briefing; staff will bring final budget action items for School Board consideration following the public hearings Monday.