Southeast Polk board hears budget outlook, warned federal cuts could force tax increase

Southeast Polk Community School District officials presented January financials and a preliminary 2026 budget outlook at the Feb. 20 school board meeting, warning that a loss of federal special-education funding could force the district to raise property taxes by roughly $1 per $1,000 of assessed value to maintain current services.

The district's business services presenter said revenues are up 5% and expenditures up 7% through January, with personnel costs rising about 9.7%, electric and gas costs up 20.6% and building mechanical/HVAC repairs up about 58% compared with last year. The presenter added that, across all funds, revenues are down 6.2% but would be up 3.7% if debt proceeds are removed from the comparison.

The presentation framed the larger 2026-budget picture around Supplemental State Aid (SSA). The superintendent and business staff said the governor and Senate had proposed a 2% SSA increase while the House proposal was higher; the district is considering publishing its budget using a 3% SSA assumption to preserve flexibility even if actual SSA is lower. The presenter noted that moving the SSA assumption from 2% to 3% would change district receipts by only a few thousand dollars but gives the administration more options when finalizing the budget.

Why it matters: district staff told the board that federal programs fund substantial services. The business services presenter explained that the district receives IDEA-funded staff, Medicaid reimbursements for special-education services and roughly $6.5 million in food-service revenues (about half of which are federal reimbursements). "If we didn't receive the money specifically for special education and everything else had [sic] held constant, in order to get that money back ... we'd have to increase our tax rate by about a dollar," the presenter said, describing the mechanics of restoring cash via property tax levies.

Board members pressed staff on timing and communications. The superintendent reported the district has reached exactly the Iowa-code minimum of 1,080 instructional hours and has missed 14.5 instructional hours this winter; he recommended waiting to decide on make-up days until later in spring. Several board members criticized posts on social media and outside comments that they said portrayed the board as having decided to raise taxes or cut programs, emphasizing that the budget numbers presented were hypothetical projections.

Discussion also covered publishing requirements. Business staff said state law requires the district to publish the maximum dollars it could receive (the Publication A notice) and that publishing a higher SSA assumption does not obligate the board to raise taxes; it preserves flexibility while the legislature finalizes state funding.

The board did not adopt final budget figures at the meeting. Staff told the board they expect to schedule two public hearings and aim for board adoption by April 10, noting the April 30 statutory deadline for final budget action. The business office also reported completion of the annual audit, continued work with auditors on the written report, and that the Government Finance Officers Association renewed the district's certificate for accurate reporting.

Board members asked for clearer, unified messaging to the public so that hypothetical projections are not presented as final decisions. The board agreed to continue discussions at upcoming meetings and to provide additional materials before public outreach.

Ending: Staff said they will return with refined projections and the information needed for Publication A and the required public hearings; no budget vote was taken at the Feb. 20 meeting.