AUBURN – A $1.5 million increase in Auburn Public Schools’ property tax request this year was blamed on a reduction in state aid at a pink postcard budget hearing in Auburn Monday.

A Nebraska Department of Education report says state aid to Auburn will decrease by $1.2 million. The 9.95 percent reduction is among the steepest declines of any school district in the state.

School Board Member Stephen Kennedy said Auburn was not a priority for the folks in charge of the Nebraska Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA)  formula.

 

 

Kennedy: “They play with that formula every year until the bulk of the schools that the people who play with the formula get the money they want to get. It is a known factor that they will play with it until it works out the best for the people who run that formula. It’s something we have no control over. When the governor was here a month and a half ago and we brought it up to him he was in shock, according to him, that it even happened that way. Part of the special session he was hoping to, of course, address this, but it wouldn’t have happened for this year either.”

Palmyra's state aid rose 15 percent to about $1.9 million more than the prior year.

State aid also increased for Plattsmouth, Conestoga, Johnson County Central, Nebraska City, Syracuse and HTRS. It went down for Weeping Water, Johnson-Brock, Pawnee City and Falls City. The 9.95 percent reduction in Auburn is behind only an 11 percent decrease at Bennington in severity.

School Superintendent David Patton said the decrease is due to the formula's handling of valuation increases and perceived student needs.

Patton: "Our needs are greater than our resources available to us in property values. ... The State of Nebraska, in that formula, took $1.2 million from us in equalization aid for this coming school year.

... I've heard the comments and I'm not trying to blame, but that's just the reality of it. If you ask the state why are we losing equalization aid they say because your property values demonstrate that you can afford it."

Patton said the school responded by not paying in to its cash reserve or into funds to replace equipment in the future.

Kennedy said the 23 percent property tax increase is not what the school board wanted.

Kennedy: “This is a terrible thing, in one year, to face, but the way the formula does work there will be some relief next year. It should be able to help somewhat. Because it put us in a position that if it doesn’t change  -- there’s also a law out there that says we have a maximum levy – and if valuations don’t change we could be very close in a few years of hitting the maximum levy.”


Nemaha County commissioners and Johnson-Brock High School also had property tax requests above the allowable growth rate, so pink postcards were mailed out.

Those attending the hearing asked officials about cost-saving measures and other revenue sources while explaining that household budgets are also tight.

The pink postcards are not mailed out until officials received tax valuation figures and set budgets. County Commissioner Bryan Mellage said the process invites public input and helps hold local decision makers accountable.

Auburn school officials place a reduction of $1.2 million in a single year squarely in the hands of the state.

https://www.education.ne.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2425SA_SystemStateAidPaidtoPaid.pdf