<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2g6mdJ_0viyOO8O00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2g6mdJ_0viyOO8O00" width="640" height="400" ></figure>LINCOLN–(KFOR Sept. 25)–On a 5-1 vote, Lincoln School Board members on Tuesday night approved of the $539-million, 2024-25 LPS budget.It includes an increase in the property tax levy by a little more than 4 cents over the next year, to help offset the approximately $32 million decrease in state equalization aid to the district. The drop in state aid this year is calculated to equal a levy of nine cents. The average homeowner of a property valued at $281,614 would see a $110 increase in their property taxes.Last year, the Board approved a 14 cent drop in the total levy to $1.07 per 100 of valuation. Two factors that led to the sizable drop were the valuation growth and the state of Nebraska’s investment in Special Education cost reimbursement from state sources instead of local sources.State aid to LPS for 2024-25 decreased by $32,422,664. The four percent increase exceeding the base growth percentage will replace the dollars lost from state funding due to property valuation increases.“Our major problem is that the state has cut our aid by more than half in the last six years, from $146-million to $72-million,” LPS Board member Bob Rauner said. “If it would have kept pace with inflation, our levy would be at least 20 to 30 cents lower by now.”Staff salaries and benefits make up almost 90% of the total budget. Each month, LPS pays over 6,500 employees a total of $30 million – money that pumps back into the Lincoln economy through the purchase of goods, services and property taxes.“If we don’t continue to pay for the best quality education we can possibly do, we are impacting our future,” Board member Annie Mumgaard said.More information and resources about the 2024-25 Budget, including past presentations, can be found on the website: https://lps.org/budget.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

LPS Board Approves of 2024-25 School Year Budget

LINCOLN–(KFOR Sept. 25)–On a 5-1 vote, Lincoln School Board members on Tuesday night approved of the $539-million, 2024-25 LPS budget. It includes an increase in the property tax levy by a little more than 4 cents over the next year, to help offset the approximately $32 million decrease in state equalization aid to the district. The drop in state aid this year is calculated to equal a levy of nine cents. The average homeowner of a property valued at $281,614 would see a $110 increase in their property taxes.