August 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM - Board of Education Special Meeting

More Information:  Mission Statement - Milford Public Schools will prepare all students to be successful citizens: Our Mission is fulfilled when all students read with comprehension, speak and write clearly, compute accurately, reason logically, understand and appreciate the fine arts, apply suitable strategies and habits of mind to solve problems, utilize technology to communicate and to understand information and behave morally.

This agenda contains a list of subjects known at the time of its distribution.  A copy of the agenda reflecting any changes will be available for public inspection during normal business hours in the District Office.  Except for items of an emergency nature, the agenda shall not be altered later than twenty-four hours before the meeting.  The Board reserves the right to alter the order of items, as it deems necessary.

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Information concerning the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 84, Article 14 of Nebraska State Statutes, is posted on the door in the meeting room.

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This is the public’s opportunity to speak to items on the agenda. This is also the public’s opportunity to speak to any topic concerning the school district – since it is not an agenda item the board cannot discuss or take action on the matter at this time. Future discussion can be requested as an agenda item. To be recognized, all participants must complete the Request to Address the Milford Board of Education Form. No complaints regarding specific staff members will be heard during a public meeting. The District has established separate procedures for complaints against individual employees. Thank you for your participation.

More Information:  We just received the 10-passenger van we approved in June.  With the lead times for finding and purchasing a 10-passenger van I would advise the board to purchase another van to replace the 12-passenger van we currently use.  I anticipate the 12 passenger vans will be unable to be sued for student transportation by next school year.  Mater's Transportation has another van for purchase for $62,900, which includes the conversion.

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To provide the board with as much detail as possible, I have prepared three scenarios for consideration—each projecting the short-term and long-term impact on the district’s property tax request. These projections are based on the following general assumptions:

• 3.5% annual growth in valuations

• 3% annual growth in special education reimbursement, and other local/state/federal revenues

• State Aid Funding will increase for the 2025-2026 school year, and with the current formula, I anticipate a decrease for 2026-2027.  For the following years I included a rough estimate of a 3% increase for each year.

• 3% annual growth in General Fund expenditures

• Special Building Fund request remains at $300,000 annually for eight years

• QCPUF levy remains at 3 cents annually to address HVAC and roof replacements

Summary of Options:

• Option 1: $5.8M ask, lowering the levy in 2025-26 to about 0.69. This provides the most immediate tax relief but would require the largest rebound (nearly 20 cents) the following year.
   

• Option 2: $6.4M ask, lowering the levy to about 0.76. This results in a smaller first-year drop, reduces the need for future increases, and provides more stability in the levy over time.
   

• Option 3: $7.1M ask, lowering the levy gradually to about 0.83. This avoids large swings, keeps the General Fund balance between $3M-$4M through 2032, and provides the most long-term stability. Tax relief is slower than in the other options but avoids steep future increases.
   

The total property tax request over the entire 8-year period is the same in all three options.
 

Additional Consideration - Property Tax Request Authority:
State law currently allows districts to carry over unused property tax request authority to future years. The board has built this authority over time, but the Legislature has discussed eliminating it during past legislative sessions. If that authority were removed, and we adopted the levy in Option 1, we would not be able to generate enough revenue to maintain our current level of expenditures. While I do not expect this change to occur, legislative action is unpredictable.

I have also prepared a general budget presentation for the board to review.  This presentation includes historical information for budget-related factors.

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The Board of Education reserves the right to enter into Closed/Executive Session for 1) the protection of the public interest, or 2) the prevention of needless injury to the reputation of an individual, and/or the individual has not requested a public meeting. When making a motion to enter into Closed/Executive Session, the member making the motion should be as specific as possible as to the reason(s) for executive session.

The Board President will restate the reason for Closed/Executive Session after the motion has been acted on.