The mill levy for the Leavenworth public school district will remain flat under a proposed 2010-2011 budget.
In fact, the proposed budget calls for a $253,021 decrease in overall taxes levied by the district, according to Kevin Gullet, chief financial officer.
“It’s not much,” he said.
Members of the Leavenworth Board of Education voted Monday to publish a notice of a public hearing for the budget. The hearing will be held during an Aug. 16 board meeting that will begin at 7 p.m. at 200 N. Fourth St.
Board members will be able to vote to approve the $67.5 million budget after the public hearing.
Gullett reviewed the proposed budget during Monday’s school board meeting.
The budget calls for a slight decrease in the total mill levy, going from 63.19 mills to 63.189 mills. And the assessed valuation for the district is down about 2 percent, leading to the tax decrease, Gullett said.
He said a contingency is built into the district’s general fund which can cover things such as possible cuts from the state.
Board members also voted Monday to increase the superintendent’s spending authority for change orders arising from bond issue construction projects.
A $57.8 million bond issue is paying for a new elementary school, a new athletic stadium and improvements to several other buildings.
The superintendent previously was allowed to approve change orders costing up to $20,000 each without bringing them to the board. Board members voted Monday to increase the limit to $50,000.
Board president John Chapman said he was concerned about losing a day or two on a project as officials wait to get approval from the board for a change order. He said this lost time could be critical between now and Sept. 7, which is when classes are scheduled to start.
He said the district also may able to save money by having a contractor perform work based on time and material rather than coming up with a bid to be approved by the board.
The change to the superintendent’s spending authority was approved 4-3 with board members Donna Brown, John Pretz and Nancy Klemp voting against it.
Pretz had tried to amend the motion to have the increased spending authority sunset Sept. 7. But the move to amend the motion failed 2-5 with only Pretz and Brown voting for it.
