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Arlington Public Schools adopts $16.47 million 2025–26 budget, sets final tax request
Summary
The Arlington Public Schools Board adopted a $16,467,366.25 budget for 2025–26 and passed a resolution setting a $8,424,477 property tax request; the board lowered the levy by just under 4¢ from last year amid higher assessed valuations and reserve planning.
Arlington Public Schools adopted its 2025–26 budget on Sept. 8, approving $16,467,366.25 in total expenditures and passing a resolution to set a final property tax request of $8,424,477.
The board and administration held a special budget hearing before the regular meeting, where Superintendent Dr. Lewis reviewed audited 2023–24 actuals, estimated 2024–25 disbursements and the proposed 2025–26 figures. Dr. Lewis said the district has trended toward spending about “92–93% of our budget,” and presented fund-level totals including a general fund proposal of about $12.25 million and depreciation of $1,153,078.
Why it matters: the district’s assessed property valuation rose about 9.1% this year to $1,020,020,501, which reduces the tax rate required to raise the same amount of revenue. Board members said they sought to strike a balance between lowering the levy and preserving reserves for long‑term building upkeep. The board’s resolution sets the proposed tax rate at 0.825913 per $100 of assessed value based on the requested totals; the rate that would levy the same dollars as last year on the new valuations would be 0.791808.
During discussion, board members and staff explained that some funds (activities, nutrition, bond, special building) are timing‑sensitive and that carryover and a state property tax credit contributed to a slightly larger reserve this cycle. The superintendent noted special education funding at roughly 80% from the state has also increased carryover levels.
The board moved to adopt the budget and then to adopt the resolution setting the final tax request as required by Nebraska law; both motions carried. The resolution cites Nebraska statutes governing tax requests and will be certified to the county clerk on or before Oct. 15, 2025.
Next steps: administration will publish the certified resolution with the county and proceed with any required levy notices. The board emphasized it will continue to monitor state funding developments and carryover levels ahead of future budget cycles.
