Tonganoxie USD 464 approves budget publication; board warns county mispublished mill-levy recs

TONGANOXIE, Kan. — The Tonganoxie USD 464 Board of Education voted Aug. 11 to publish the district’s budget, moving the district toward a scheduled R&R hearing and final budget hearing next month.
A board member told the group the district’s mill levy will increase about 1.10 to 1.15 mills this year after several budget pressures, and district leaders said they will pursue general belt-tightening to rebuild cash balances.
“We’re gonna be up about 1.1, 1.15, something like that mills,” the board member said. The same speaker said the district had limited options to avoid a small increase because of special-education costs and declining bond-related state aid.
District leaders also told the board that Leavenworth County’s published reconciliation (R&R) materials may have misidentified district revenue and spending — listing Recreation as “USD 4 64 recreation” and showing a 76% spending ratio — and that the county had not republished corrected documents at the time of the meeting. The board member said that could “get people’s blood pressure up unnecessarily.”
Finance staff and Superintendent-level presenters said the district had met with the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) for a budget review and received positive feedback and no required adjustments.
Board action: The board approved the budget publication for legal notice and public review, 5-0. The public schedule noted by board members: a R&R hearing, then a budget hearing, then the regular board meeting next month.
Why it matters: Publication starts the formal public-review process required by state law and local procedure, and officials said the modest mill-levy increase is intended to address rising costs in special education and declining external aid.
What’s next: The board will hold the R&R hearing and a subsequent budget hearing next month; district staff will continue to monitor county publications and push for corrected R&R materials if necessary.