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Auburn Washburn board meeting, Sep 14, 2026

1 h 17 min · 5 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 54:48Enrollment ▶ 26:56Reading and test scores ▶ 51:56

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 17 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Auburn Washburn board approves 2026⁠-⁠2027 budget after hearing on revenue-neutral rate 44:01

  • The board held a public hearing on a resolution to exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 16:35
  • Several speakers at public comment raised increases in their property taxes and asked the board to cut spending and stay at the revenue-neutral rate. 18:46
  • The superintendent said district leadership will engage in budget rightsizing activities with the goal of reducing expenses for the current fiscal year. 57:00
  • The board approved the 2026⁠-⁠2027 budget and a KASB elective benefit solution, each by a 6 to 0 vote. 1:01:25

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and hearing purpose 15:56
    • Roll call was taken, with one board member noted as not in attendance. 15:56
    • A staff member said the district is required to submit to the county its intent to exceed the revenue-neutral rate, which establishes the cap on the mill levy rate. 16:57
    • The staff member said the step gives the board all options available as it works through the budget process. 16:57
  2. Public comment on revenue-neutral rate 17:33
    • A speaker at public comment described property tax increases over the last 5 years and said the district should cut and stay neutral. 19:15
    • Another speaker at public comment compared the growth in district property tax revenue with the CPI and asked the board to get close to the CPI rate. 23:52
    • A speaker at public comment raised declining enrollment and asked the board to vote no on exceeding the revenue-neutral rate. 28:44
  3. Vote on revenue-neutral rate resolution 41:24
    • A motion was made to approve the resolution to exceed the revenue-neutral tax rate for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year, and a roll call vote was taken. 41:52
    • One board member said they would vote yes and that the board is looking at what it needs to cut going into the school year. 42:34
  4. Hearing on legal maximum budget 44:01
    • A staff member said now is the time to implement the cost of living adjustment the board had not used in recent years. 44:25
    • The staff member said the state does not fully fund SPED and the shortfall has been about $8.9 million per year over the last 3 years. 45:46
    • A speaker said the board would vote on the budget during action items later in the meeting. 46:10
  5. Agenda and consent items 47:01
    • The consent motion included payment of bills in the amount of $5,937,369.66. 47:30
    • The agenda and the business by consent were each approved 6 to 0. 47:30
  6. Superintendent's report 48:04
    • The superintendent said the superintendent was asked to participate in the Commissioner of Education Advisory Board regarding school accountability. 48:04
    • The superintendent said the superintendent attended a first steering committee meeting for the Greater Topeka Partnership and invited survey input. 49:31
  7. Accreditation and needs assessment update 51:56
    • A presenter said MAP fall to spring growth improved compared with last year and CAP ELA and math proficiency levels remained at or above state levels in all grade levels. 52:28
    • Asked when new guiding coalition members would be selected, a speaker said the group would hold its first meeting on Thursday. 53:36
  8. Budget presentation 54:40
    • The superintendent said the board for the 2nd year in a row approved reassigning expenses exceeding $4 million from the general fund to capital outlay and that it is necessary to engage in budget rightsizing. 56:12
    • The superintendent said recommendations for this year would come to the board prior to the close of the first semester and the work would be a multiyear exercise. 57:23
    • A staff member said the revenue-neutral rate total mill levy was 59.456 and the proposed budget would generate about $1 million for additional operating expenses. 58:23
  9. Employee voluntary benefits provider 59:14
    • A staff member said the district chose KBS, a division of KASB, as its health insurance consultant and the item would allow use of its platforms for voluntary employee benefits. 59:38
    • The board approved the KASB elective benefit solution 6 to 0. 1:01:19
  10. Legal maximum budget and tax rate 1:01:25
    • A motion was made to approve the 2026⁠-⁠2027 budget as presented. 1:01:25
    • The motion passed 6 to 0. 1:01:25
  11. Executive session 1:01:25
    • The chair moved to go into executive session for 15 minutes to discuss students, with the open meeting to resume at 7:32. 1:01:54
    • The board moved into executive session. 1:02:19

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education Meeting: September 14, 2026 at 6:30 PM”