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Jennings County board reviews 2026 budget projections, votes to advertise budget and related plans
Summary
The Jennings County School Corporation reviewed a second draft of the 2026 budget with updated assessed value and levy projections, discussed the effect of a state Senate bill on 2026 collections, and voted to advertise the budget, capital project plan and bus-replacement plan for public notice.
The Jennings County School Corporation discussed a second draft of its 2026 budget, including updated assessed-value and levy projections, and voted to advertise the budget, the capital project plan and the district bus-replacement plan for public notice.
The board heard that the district's education fund projection increased by $180,000 from the prior draft, driven by refinements to the basic grant calculations for honors diplomas, special-education funding and CTE courses. The presenter said that change raises an internal figure to $332,000,528 (presentation figure) and does not change the district's plan to advertise the education levy at the rate previously proposed.
The presentation explained how assessed value (AV) and the growth quotient interact with the tax rate: if assessed value rises less than the statutory growth quotient, the district's effective tax rate would need to increase slightly to maintain the levy. The presenter used the district's current AV estimate of approximately $1.167 billion and noted a recent change in the projected rate from about 1.2432 to 1.22 based on updated AV estimates. The presentation also flagged a state policy change, referred to in the meeting as "Senate Bill 1," saying deduction changes and a supplemental credit in that bill will reduce the amount of tax collected in 2026 compared with what otherwise would have been expected.
Finance staff asked the board for permission to advertise the 2026 budget, the capital project plan and the bus-replacement plan in the local paper on Sept. 5; the motion to advertise was made by Board member Travis and seconded by Board member Mary Lynn and passed, recorded in the meeting as 6-0. The presenter said a third version of the draft budget will be available at the next meeting in two weeks.
Board members asked no substantive follow-up questions during the presentation. The district's presenter noted some slides were simplified (rounded to nearest million or hundred-thousand) to make the figures easier to read and repeated that a final determination of assessed value and levy effect should be clearer at the next meeting.
The board will next consider the advertised budget at subsequent public meetings in accordance with the published notice schedule.
