The Board of Education has officially approved the 2025-2026 school district budget, reflecting the continued investment in quality education, facility improvements, and fiscal responsibility.

Key Budget Highlights:                      

Understanding State Aid & the Local Option Budget (LOB)

In Kansas, a portion of local school funding comes from what’s called the Local Option Budget (LOB). While it’s supported by local property taxes, state aid helps offset the burden on local taxpayers. The higher the state-assessed property valuation and enrollment needs, the more the district is allowed to budget locally—with some of that funding matched by the state. This partnership ensures that rural districts like ours can maintain quality education without placing the full financial responsibility on our local community.

Why the Increase?

There are multiple facility needs that must be addressed as our buildings continue to age. While we continue to facilitate repairs as needed at Anderson County Junior/Senior High, we have been evaluating the cost of replacing the roof in sections or in its entirety. Both avenues included estimates in the millions of dollars. Garnett Elementary also requires some roof repair, but not as significant. The Irving building is in desperate need of a new roof in excess of $350,000. Multiple facilities require needed safety updates, such as the fire panels and sensors throughout the schools. Unfortunately, the increased Mill levy will not cover these costs and other maintenance costs in the entirety. The school board, with fiscal responsibility in mind, intentionally selected to increase the Supplemental General (LOB) budget levy rather than capital outlay.  State aid is provided to school districts on a sliding scale in association with the LOB budget. The LOB levy is estimated to provide almost one million dollars in state aid. The increased levy is intentionally designed to increase the state aid received by our district, thereby lessening the overall burden on our local community as we facilitate necessary building updates. While LOB funds may not be used directly for facility improvements, LOB funds may be used to cover many other district costs, freeing up the general fund budget to cover those facility repairs.

We thank our patrons for their continued support of public education. Every dollar invested in our schools is a dollar invested in our community’s future.