Superintendent says district will ask counties for about $6.5M; warns of $3.5M grant loss

Superintendent Bill told the board the district's levy 'ask' to county officials will be about $6,500,000 for the coming year, which he characterized as a 4.9% increase in the district's request compared with last year. He emphasized that the district is not automatically increasing tax rates by 4.9% and that actual taxes depend on county calculations and property assessments.

Bill also said the district recently lost approximately $3,500,000 in grant funding that it had planned to rely on. "We just lost $3,500,000," he said, and noted organizations that lose federal grants sometimes pursue litigation. He told the board the district had contingency plans and will present detailed projections to the finance committee so members can see where funds would come from and how costs might be managed in the coming years.

Why it matters: the levy ask determines how much the district requests from county tax collections and helps shape budgeting for operations, risk management and capital needs. Bill outlined that part of the proposed levy increase is allocated to tort/risk-management items and that the district will maintain documentation — including time studies — to justify levy allocations if audited.

Next steps: the board approved the 2026–2027 annual levy later in the meeting and directed staff to provide additional figures before the next reading so members better understand county allocations and revenue projections.