A closely divided Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools board voted 4-3 to bring in more property tax dollars this year instead of lowering rates enough to cancel out rising property values. 

In a repeat of an earlier vote, board President Randy Lopez and members Yolanda Clark, Robert Milan Jr. and Joycelyn Strickland-Egans voted to “exceed revenue neutral,” which means they intend to collect more local property tax income this year than last. Board Vice President Wanda Brownlee Paige and members Pamela Penn-Hicks and Valdenia Winn were opposed. 

During a public hearing before the vote, one man criticized the district for paying administrators six-figure salaries while low-income residents’ property taxes increase. Other commenters questioned some board members’ focus on relatively small expenses. 

“There is nothing wrong with asking whether bagels are the best use of district funds,” said James Crum. “But then, when a small expense becomes a symbol of waste, we move from evaluating spending to politicking. … Every hour we spend tracking bagels is an hour away from talking about student experience and outcomes.”

Board members have been through a monthslong budget review and debate over whether to keep local property tax revenue flat or seek more. At Winn’s suggestion, the board formed a subcommittee to review expenses related to travel, cellphones, accessories, data plans and AI subscriptions. 

The district is anticipating net expenditures of more than $450 million for 2026-27. Projected enrollment is 20,500, similar to last year’s. 

KCKPS receives 71% of its funding from the state, 16% from local taxes and 12.5% from federal funds, according to a slideshow presentation attached to the Aug. 25 board agenda. Small amounts come from gifts and grants and student fees.

When it came time to make the final decision Aug. 25, discussion was relatively brief. Some members explained their reasoning as they gave their votes, or pushed back against critics. 

Penn-Hicks, who was part of the subcommittee along with Lopez and Winn, said she wanted better access to data and to start the budget process earlier. She called out a Facebook page called KCKPS Families United, which has been critical of the three board members who voted against exceeding revenue neutral. 

“The narrative on this page mocked our efforts to review the budget (and) seek adherence to board policies and promoted exceeding revenue neutral,” Penn-Hicks said. “Their real objective was to squash any objections to spending without interference and oversight, damage any opposition and couch it in terms of care for our students and teachers.”

KCKPS Families United responded to Penn-Hicks’ statements in a post Wednesday. 

“Every claim on this page links to the district’s own video, and if we ever publish a false statement of fact, name it and we’ll correct it in public,” the post read in part. “We will also continue correcting false statements made by board members when they make them. That’s not ‘character assassination, lies, threats,’ it’s just democracy in action.”

Before voting no, Paige said she represents not only students but district residents. 

“I don’t disagree with you when you say the kids deserve the best,” she said. “They do, but people are struggling to buy food, to buy gas. Now they’re really in a pinch.”

Milan, who had expressed in June that he was uncertain of his ultimate vote, said he had been convinced by hearing about the district’s many needs and challenges. The latest budget slideshow lists more than a dozen reasons the board should consider bringing in more money this year, such as decreased or uncertain federal and state funding, the costs associated with the state’s new school cellphone ban and the benefits of increasing funding reserves.

Milan said paying more in property taxes is worthwhile to support schools. 

“It’s necessary for our district to look at this and do the best we can, because number one it’s for the children…,” he said. “To do something good and do it in a positive way, it’s going to cost you something. Nothing comes free in this world.”

What happens next

The next step is for the board to approve the budget Sept. 8. For that budget, administrators are recommending that the board lower the tax rate slightly, from 62.791 mills for the combined school and public library levy to a flat 62 mills. One mill equals $1 of property taxes for each $1,000 of assessed value. 

Lowering the rate doesn’t mean the district will bring in less money. As existing properties increase in value or more properties are added to the tax rolls, the same tax rate — or even a lower one — can bring in more money. 

That’s why the board had to vote whether to “exceed revenue neutral” though the tax rate may go down either way. 

In a slideshow attached to the board agenda, the district said each reduction of one mill for the supplemental general fund reduces revenue by about $4.6 million because it affects matching state aid as well. 

Keeping tax revenue steady could have left the district spread thin. Administrators say they face rising costs, and they anticipate funding losses in other areas. 

The most recent budget slideshow says the district found more than $12 million in increased costs — higher than the number cited during the June meeting. Those ranged from from less than $27,000 to expand high school athletics and clubs to $3.5 million in increased health insurance costs. 

They also listed past, current and future efforts to save money such as cutting dozens of full-time equivalent positions, reducing each department’s budget by 2%, reducing out-of-district travel by 10% and anticipating about $3.8 million in additional state funding.

Superintendent Anna Stubblefield clarified that cutting staff positions hasn’t been a board decision but rather falls under the purview of administrators in response to student enrollment trends. She said the district has lost more than 2,000 students in a five-year period. 

“Staffing across the board is based off of the number of students that we actually serve, because that’s how the finance formula is informed,” she said. “If a school had 400 students last year and they have 300 students this year, and if the (student-teacher) ratio is one to 25, we’re not backfilling four positions.”

Stubblefield said staff members who are no longer needed in a specific role can often move to another opening rather than losing their jobs. 

During public comment, a librarian at Carl B. Bruce Middle School, Kris Peterson, said some of the cuts that are happening affect how well students are served. She said the district hasn’t been refilling library assistant positions when staff members leave. 

“I am asking you to make this temporary, until we are in a better place financially,” she said. “A library assistant is the reason I can take a couple of minutes to help a child find a book, rather than watch him walk away disappointed, empty-handed and feeling ignored.”