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Hiawatha board votes to publish budget with 5.5‑mill capital outlay levy after protracted debate
Summary
After a lengthy review of assessed valuations and taxpayer impacts, the Hiawatha USD board voted to publish the 2024–25 budget reflecting a 5.5‑mill capital outlay levy; the transcript records the motion as passed but does not provide an unambiguous roll‑call tally.
The Hiawatha Unified School District board voted to publish its proposed 2024–25 budget reflecting a 5.5‑mill capital outlay levy after extended discussion about taxpayer impacts and capital needs.
Board members spent the bulk of the meeting debating the size of a capital outlay levy move from the district’s historical 6 mills toward a compromise that would fund parking‑lot repairs, HVAC needs and other capital projects while limiting the immediate tax impact on homeowners. Speaker 3, who presented the draft budget and advised the board, said the district’s projected needs would best be met by a return toward 6 mills but acknowledged the board must weigh taxpayer fairness: "I'm gonna recommend that we get the 6 and me and my heart are gonna disagree" (Speaker 3).
The board discussed scenarios that would have varying effects on residential taxpayers because assessed valuation increases have been highly uneven across property types. Speaker 2 summarized modeling showing that a district‑level 9% increase in local funding could translate into roughly a 10% tax increase for homeowners because of the assessment skew: "In order to get that 9% increase in local funding, you've got to pass on an almost 15% increase in taxes to the homeowners" (Speaker 2).
Greg moved to publish a budget reflecting a 5.5‑mill capital outlay levy; the motion was seconded and put to a voice vote. The transcript records 'Aye' and 'No' responses and, in the verbatim record, states "Motion passed 42 43." The meeting record included vocal yea and nay responses but did not provide a clear roll‑call tally in the transcript to reconcile the numeric shorthand recorded in the audio transcript. The district clerk will publish the proposed budget for public inspection and hearing per statutory requirements before any final adoption.
The board’s action to publish is a procedural step that opens the draft budget to public review and a subsequent formal vote; it does not finalize the mill levy. The superintendent (Speaker 3) and other members noted capital projects they intend to prioritize should revenue be available, including high school parking‑lot repairs and HVAC work. The board also discussed scheduling of the public hearing and additional budget communications to patrons.
Next steps: the published budget will be available for public review and a final vote will be scheduled after the required public notice and hearing period. The district clerk and administration were directed to proceed with publication and notice preparations.
