Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Mill Levy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hiawatha school board holds budget hearing, adopts LOB and defers final mill-levy change to special meeting
Summary
Trustees adopted a 24-25 Local Option Budget resolution, discussed capital-outlay levy options and failed to change the levy in the hearing because an absent trustee prevented a final vote; board scheduled a special meeting to complete the decision.
The Hiawatha Unified School District board opened a budget hearing to consider exceeding the revenue-neutral rate required under state law and to set the district’s Local Option Budget percentage. Speaker 2 explained the legal formality: the state’s statutory 20-mill general rate makes it impossible for many districts to remain strictly revenue-neutral when per-pupil costs rise.
During the hearing the board adopted resolution 25-07 to set the Local Option Budget (LOB) percentage for 2024–25 by a 6-0 vote. Trustee discussion then focused on whether to increase the capital-outlay levy this year to address facility needs. Trustee Griff Howard (Speaker 4) argued for an incremental approach—proposing a lower capital-outlay levy now and additional increases in later years to avoid a sudden double-digit increase for homeowners. Other trustees warned that assessed-valuation shifts mean any increase will land unevenly across property classes.
Howard formally moved to amend the budget to represent a 5.00 (later amended to 5.05) capital-outlay levy while otherwise approving the budget. That amendment was not approved during the hearing because two trustees had been absent earlier and the board would need to republish to take final action; staff explained state republishing rules require a separately noticed meeting for a final vote. The board therefore scheduled a follow-up special meeting, tentatively set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, to allow all members to participate and complete any final levy changes.
Board clerk Lehi and district staff reminded the audience that tax notices separate the state-mandated 20-mill general line from other local levies (capital outlay, LOB, bond & interest), and that equalization rules make the numerically identical 20-mill line affect districts differently depending on local assessed valuations. Staff also noted that the formal state assessment review (code 99) is a statutory step included in the budget process.
The board’s next steps are procedural: finalize any amendment at the specially noticed meeting, republish as required, and then adopt the budget at a properly constituted session. No final change to the capital-outlay levy was adopted during the budget hearing.
