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Paola board approves revenue-neutral 2024–25 budget, cites $421,000 loss in state aid
Summary
The Paola School District Board approved a revenue-neutral 2024–25 budget and a 33% local option budget percentage after a public hearing. District staff said state aid fell by $421,000 this year even as budget authority increased about $905,000.
The Paola School District Board of Education approved the district'024'025 budget at its public hearing, voting to adopt a revenue-neutral proposal that board members and staff said built cushion into estimates while reflecting changes in state funding. The board also adopted a 33% Local Option Budget percentage.
During the budget hearing, a district presenter identified in the meeting as Jim reviewed the proposed budget and supporting documents posted on the district website. Jim said the budget included roughly $905,000 more in general-fund budget authority compared with last year nd noted a $421,000 reduction in state aid for the current year. "This is all on our website," Jim said, describing the presentation as a summary of detailed materials available online.
Board members were shown the assumptions that drive the budget authority: the state—unding count day (Sept. 20), free-lunch eligibility used to calculate at-risk funding, career and technical clock hours converted to FTE, transportation weightings tied to distance, and an option this year to use a two-year average of prior enrollments. Jim said the legislature provided additional special-education dollars statewide, and the district included authority to receive a portion of that funding.
The board moved and seconded to approve the budget "with consideration of building needs and state assessment results," and approved the motion by voice vote. The transcript does not include a roll-call tally of individual votes.
Board members also approved a resolution adopting a 33% Local Option Budget percentage. A presenter noted the statewide LOB average was roughly 32% in prior publicly available figures.
The presenter cautioned that some one-time federal funds (ESSER) have been spent and warned that ongoing reliance on fund balances would be unsustainable. He also reiterated that rising assessed values per pupil can reduce state aid under the school-finance formula, creating local funding pressures that the budget tries to address.
What's next: The budget certification documents will be signed and submitted to Miami County and the Kansas State Department of Education as required by statute. The board closed the budget hearing and moved on to open-forum items and other business.
