USD 305 Board Votes 7-0 to Exceed Revenue Neutral Rate for 2026-2027

The Salina USD 305 Board of Education voted 7-0 on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, to exceed the Revenue Neutral Tax Rate for the 2026-2027 budget, approving Resolution 0326 after a public hearing held in a special meeting.

The special session began at 5:15 p.m. at the District Offices, 1511 Gypsum, ahead of the board’s regular meeting at 5:30 p.m, which meant the session was not streamed nor recorded.

According to the special meeting agenda, the board held the Exceeding the Revenue Neutral Tax Rate hearing, considered Resolution 0326, and held a 2026-2027 budget hearing. Resolution 0326, as described in the agenda materials, cites K.S.A. 79-2988, notes the September 8 hearing for interested taxpayers to give oral testimony, and adopts the 2026-2027 budget with a levy of property taxes exceeding the Revenue Neutral Tax Rates calculated for 2026-2027.

Resolution 0326 did not appear in the regular meeting packet; the Revenue Neutral Rate hearing and that resolution were listed on the special meeting agenda only.

Why the hearing was outside the regular meeting

Olivia Opat, Communications Director for Salina Public Schools, said Kansas State Department of Education guidelines require both the revenue neutral rate and budget hearings to be held outside of a regularly-scheduled meeting because they are public hearings.

Opat said the USD 305 Board of Education sets and approves the dates of its regularly-scheduled meetings in July and reaffirms them in January.

Public notice

Opat said information regarding the hearings was published 10 days in advance, on August 19, 2026, in the Salina Journal and posted on the district website, including the date, time and location of the hearings.

District administration documents in the regular meeting packet also describe publication of an official notice of hearing in the Salina Journal and on the USD 305 website after an August 11, 2026 special board meeting that examined budget and mill levy projections.

Livestream policy and September 8 interruption

The district's livestream page states that only regular board meetings will be livestreamed and that special meetings will not be livestreamed.

Opat said that because of the dedicated equipment and resources required for livestreaming, the district currently livestreams all regularly-scheduled Board of Education meetings held in the board room, where the district's streaming equipment is located. She said special meetings may take place at various locations throughout the district where that equipment is not available, and for that reason special meetings are not included as part of the district's regularly-scheduled livestreams.

Opat also said the district experienced technical difficulties during the September 8 livestream when the district lost internet connection, causing the stream to end at approximately 5:48 p.m. She said the district apologizes for the interruption and that, while the district makes every effort to provide an uninterrupted livestream, unforeseen technical issues can still occur.