School asking Nebraska City voters for solution to financial crisis

NEBRASKA CITY –  The Nebraska City School Board is asking voters to authorize a property tax increase eight cents above the current lid of 1.05.

Here is the school’s recent levy history for its general fund

• 2018       1.055
• 2019       1.049
• 2020       1.05

The proposal would authorize an increase up to 1.13 for the next four years.

The school says the additional taxing authority is needed to relieve the general fund, which has been used to help service debt. Included in the $36 million owed by the school, is $2.1 million to local loans, $1.7 million in a line of credit and $2.4 million in tax anticipation notes.

Superintendent Mark Fritch, who took the job in July, said construction overages following the 2007 school construction bond issue, led the school district to issue tax anticipation notes. Cash flow struggles continued and the school went to local lenders to open a line of credit as high as $700,000.

Fritch said the school is up to the $1.05 cap and, of that amount, 4 cents goes to pay debt.

When you add the general fund levy of $1.05 to the bond levy, the total school levy is around .124.

Fritch says if the levy override fails this spring, the school will still have a levy around .124, but the quality of education will change.

Nebraska City’s annual property tax asking has grown by over $8 million since 1999.

Here is a snapshot of school tax and expenditures provided by the state auditor's office.

Year 1999

• Property tax request        3,832,496
• Outstanding debt            10,389,788
• Disbursements                 10,373,475

Year 2008

• Property tax request      7,632,909
• Outstanding debt           48,266,560
• Total disbursements       17,860,814

Year 2020

• Property tax request      11,953,411
• Outstanding debt           30,593,449
• Total disbursements       32,862,951

https://www.nebraska.gov/auditor/reports/index.cgi

 

Here is the schools levy snapshot

 

2005

• School general fund/bonds                         1.259
• 2007 school bond                                             0

2006

• School general fund/bonds                         1.226
• 2007 school bond                                             0

2007

• School general fund/bonds                         1.0306
• 2007 school bond                                          .1350

2012

• School general fund/bonds                         1.09
• 2007 school bond                                           .1357

2018

• School general fund/bonds                         1.2272
• General operating                                         1.055
• 2007 school bond                                          .1351

2019

• School general fund/bonds                         1.2337
• General operating                                        1.062
• 2007 school bond                                          .1406

2020

• School general fund/bonds                       1.2442
  General operating                                         1.0559
  2007 school bond                                          .1440

 

The NSEA lists the 2020 valuation at $943 million.

According to the NSEA, 27 Nebraska school districts are near or at the levy lid. These include Elkhorn, Grand Island, Auburn, Bellevue, Papillion and Ralston.