Shawnee Mission board adopts $618.2 million budget, votes to exceed revenue-neutral tax rate

The Shawnee Mission Board of Education voted to exceed the state-calculated revenue-neutral tax rate and adopted the district’s 2025–26 budget at its Aug. 25 meeting.

The board opened a public hearing under K.S.A. 79-2988 on the revenue-neutral rate (RNR) and allowed members of the public five minutes each to speak; no patrons presented comments on the tax rate. "I do recommend adopting the resolution to exceed the revenue neutral tax rate for financing the annual budget for the 2025–26 school year," Dr. Schumacher said before the board took its roll-call vote. The district’s RNR was stated as a mill rate of 48.525; the district proposed a mill rate of 50.835.

The board then opened the statutorily required budget hearing under K.S.A. 79-2929 and later approved the total published budget in the amount of $618,209,561. Heather read the budget motion verbatim during the meeting, noting that the district had prepared state budget forms and the district profiles and needs assessments required by K.S.A. 72-1163 were available on the district website and on file at the Center for Academic Achievement. The approved budget will be filed with the Kansas Department of Education and the Johnson County Clerk before the statutory deadlines.

Why it matters: Exceeding the revenue-neutral rate allows the district to levy additional property tax revenue beyond what state law would otherwise allow for unchanged services; the adopted budget and mill rate determine local property tax levies that fund operations and staff across the district’s schools.

Key details - Revenue-neutral tax rate (as stated at the hearing): 48.525 mills. Proposed mill rate to exceed RNR: 50.835 mills. - Adopted 2025–26 budget total: $618,209,561. - Local option budget (LOB) percentage adopted: 33% (resolution read and adopted at the meeting).

Votes at a glance (formal actions recorded in the meeting) - Resolution to exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate: approved (roll call: Boyd — yes; Hembry — yes; Boardman — yes; Garcia — yes; Owesley — yes; Sinclair — yes; Westbrook — yes). Motion recorded as "Motion passes 7 0." (outcome: approved) - Adoption of the 2025–26 budget (total published budget $618,209,561): approved (outcome: approved; motion passed 6–0 per meeting roll call) - Local option budget (LOB) percentage resolution (33%): approved (meeting record shows "Motion passes 6 2 0"; recorded outcome: approved) - Other action items taken at the same meeting (see below) were likewise approved; individual vote tallies are recorded in the meeting minutes for each item.

Other formal actions recorded (summary) - Authorization to renew the medical insurance program with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (effective 01/01/2026) with a 9.8% overall plan cost increase and raise district contribution to $982 per month: approved. - Ratification of an emergency roofing contract at Horizons High School with Delta Innovative Services, Inc., not to exceed $1,098,721 (3% contingency), funded from the capital fund: approved. - Authorization to purchase the Genetec Security Center platform (hardware, licensing, implementation) from CDW-G: $1,202,878 over five years with a 5% contingency from capital outlay funds: approved. - Authorization of a contract with the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired to provide supplemental staffing as needed for 2025–26, cost not to exceed $275,000 from special education operating funds: approved. - Authorization for Shawnee Mission East choir student travel to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Prague (expenditure not to exceed $400,000; no district funds to be used): approved. - Approval of revised district transfer and open-enrollment policies (policy references read and approved as presented): approved.

Context and next steps: Board members noted that the budget and associated levy work represent many months of preparation and that budget adoption will now be followed by required filings with the Kansas Department of Education and the Johnson County Clerk. The administration emphasized that the district’s budget summary, needs assessments and related documents are available on the district website.

Ending: The board closed the regular action items after votes and moved to scheduled executive-session business.