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Independence 30 School District special meeting, Jun 22, 2026

48 min · 0 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 0:59Enrollment ▶ 6:06

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 48 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Independence school board reviews budget, fund balance projections at work session 0:00

  • A district staff member walked the board through the budget document at a work session on the budget. 0:00
  • Questions covered the enrollment decline, the state foundation formula and property assessments in Jackson County. 7:01
  • The staff member said the estimated operating fund balance was 30.5% and that the projection on the next page of the budget book showed the fund balance dropping to 22.16%. 9:13
  • The meeting was adjourned. ~48:25
Item by item (10)
  1. Opening and agenda 0:00
    • The work session was called to order, and a motion to approve the agenda was requested. 0:00
    • A roll call was taken. ~0:29
  2. Budget message 0:46
    • The staff member said the district's Annual Performance Report score had improved every year and reached 80.5% this past year, and noted passage of a $60 million bond issue. 0:59
    • The staff member said this was the first year in 17 years the district did not meet revenue projections, citing the foundation formula not being fully funded and assessed valuation in Jackson County. 0:59
    • After a question, the staff member clarified that enrollment dropped by about 400 students, or 500 weighted ADA. 6:06
  3. Enrollment decline 7:01
    • Asked why enrollment declined, the staff member said no single cause stood out and pointed to homeschooling and state tax credits for private schools. 7:01
    • The staff member said per-student funding estimates could be provided if enrollment fell further. ~8:30
  4. Fund balance projections 9:13
    • The staff member said the estimated operating fund balance was 30.5%, projected to drop to 22.16% and then 12.72% in the third year, against a third-year goal of 12.5. 9:13
    • Jill Esry asked what percentage of the budget is salaries, and the staff member said 77.22%. 15:52
    • The staff member said the first projected year of payments from the Nebius data center project totals $6.3 million, with later years anywhere from $25 to $32 million. 17:15
  5. State foundation formula 19:02
    • The staff member said the Student Adequacy Target should have been $7,145 per student but the district was likely paid on about $6,900, a difference of about $4.1 million this year. 19:08
    • The staff member said the FY27 budget used $6,820 and guessed a rewrite of the formula was 2 years out. 19:08
    • The staff member said the state designates districts as financially distressed below 3% and that staying above 30% should be the goal. 22:19
  6. Bond projects and enrollment forecasting 26:20
    • Asked about operating costs for schools improved through the bond, the staff member said operating costs may actually be lower. 26:20
    • The staff member said traditional demography studies have not been accurate for the district because of its high transiency rate. 27:41
  7. Jackson County assessments 28:53
    • Jill Esry asked about the effect of the commercial rate in Jackson County and how clawbacks differ from withholdings. 28:53
    • The staff member said a little over $1 million in operating and about $210,000 in debt service payments had been withheld. 30:07
    • The staff member said potential FY23 and 24 withholdings or clawbacks totaled $12,819,844 in operating and $2,976,078 in debt service. 30:09
  8. Federal and state policy questions 32:11
    • The staff member said ESSER funds were completely expended and said eliminating the state income tax would be absolutely devastating for schools. 32:19
    • Asked about a possible federal change to residency requirements, the staff member said it would shift where revenues go and could cause large swings in enrollment. 35:46
    • The staff member said board members should actively engage legislators. ~37:37
  9. Financial risks and tax recoupment 39:21
    • The staff member said it will be important to track expenditures monthly and make adjustments during the year. ~39:21
    • The staff member said the district has the flexibility to pursue a tax recoupment to get back money and that the board would have to decide whether to do so. 43:28
    • The staff member said a clawback takes back money already received, while a withholding is money scheduled but not sent. 45:26
  10. Adjournment 47:20
    • A motion to adjourn was made, and additional questions were to be gathered and answered before the next board meeting. 47:20
    • The meeting was adjourned. ~48:25

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 “June 22, 2026 Board of Education Special Session”