By Emma Laura
USD 383 officials on Wednesday adopted the budget for fiscal year 2026, which will raise property taxes by 5%.
The board also voted to exceed the revenue-neutral rate, which is the mill levy rate that would generate the same amount of tax dollars as the previous year. The state requires school boards to have a public hearing when they want a budget that exceeds that rate.
“Our district has had a trajectory of growth, which means the base rate we receive for students increases the amount of aid we receive from the state,” said Andy Hutchinson, director of business operations. “If we were to maintain revenue-neutral rate when the other factors are increasing, then we miss out on state aid that we get as part of our funding formulas and our having to provide more services with less money when maintaining the revenue neutral rate.”
