Omaha Public Schools previews budget after $50.6 million state-aid recalculation; board hears option to restore levy to statutory maximum

Omaha Public Schools officials told the board on Tuesday that a Nebraska Department of Education recalculation reduced the district’s calculated state aid by roughly $50.6 million and presented options to bridge the gap for the 2026–27 school year.

"When I got the call in November, it seemed like a cliff had just appeared before us," Mr. Ryan, the district’s budget presenter, said, summarizing the impact of a state recalculation that he said reduced this district’s aid from earlier estimates. He said the district’s preliminary model assumes the state’s recalculation will be treated as a one-time adjustment and that some of the lost revenue could be recovered in later years depending on statutory timing and the state board’s action on an $8.2 million learning-community aid component.

The district presented three principal ways to manage the shortfall: (1) raise the property-tax request toward the statutory maximum (a levy equating to a roughly $399.2 million property-tax request in the presentation), (2) use one-time reserves and defer allocations to the special building fund, and (3) realize identified operating reductions including stopping cellular-data service for student iPads. Mr. Ryan said the preliminary plan would rely in part on a $17.5 million use of general-fund reserves while keeping the overall operating budget largely flat for one year.

Mr. Ryan told the board the district is modeling a statutory maximum levy (the presentation cited a $15 levy as the cap) as an option that would offset the full reduction in calculated state aid and return the district to a near-balanced preliminary revenue picture. He said that option would increase the district’s local funding share and that it would be adjusted later if certified valuations are higher than his conservative forecast.

Superintendent Ray emphasized continuity of the district’s strategic priorities while staff work through the math. "Omaha Public Schools will maintain our focus on literacy," he said during the introduction to the briefing.

The presentation listed programmatic and expense changes the district is considering or has already adopted for the preliminary forecast: not allocating a portion of the levy to the special building fund for one or two years (about $10 million carried forward), stopping cellular data on student devices (a contracted-services reduction Mr. Ryan estimated in the millions), and contingent reductions in supplies and materials. Mr. Ryan said the district anticipates a modest personnel-cost increase (a 2% raise in the 2026–27 model) but otherwise intends to hold overall expenditures roughly flat at about $850 million for the year.

Board members pressed staff on the district’s valuation assumptions and the timing for updated valuations. Mr. Ryan said his team is using a conservative 4.5% valuation increase for the district (citywide estimates discussed were 4.9% and countywide 6%), and that a formal preliminary valuation for the school district should be available in late March or early April with certified valuations due Aug. 20. If valuations prove higher, the district could lower the levy later under existing statutory caps and procedures.

Board members also asked about pension/ARC obligations and long-term risk. Mr. Ryan and members noted routine ARC/OSERS payments—cited in the presentation at roughly $37–39 million annually—are a recurring large budget item and factored into multi-year forecasts.

What happens next: the presentation was informational; no budget vote was held. The board and staff will continue to refine the preliminary forecast as more valuation information and final state figures arrive later this spring. The district will present updated levy and budget options as they are developed before any formal property-tax request or override decision.