The USD 253 budget for 2026-27 could be finalized by this time next month.
During their regular meeting Wednesday evening, the USD 253 Board of Education approved a pair of public hearings ahead of their next regular meeting on September 9th. The first will be related to the revenue-neutral rate, with the second to focus on the 26-27 budget.
Following those hearings as part of the board’s regular agenda, both items will be considered and potentially approved. The budget, as it is set to be published, comes to $126 million, which is a $3 million decrease from the 25-26 budget, and carries a mill levy rate of 56.496, which is more than a mill lower than the prior rate of 57.676.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Josh Swartz tells KVOE News this year’s budget was, understandably, challenging given the $4 million budget deficit that resulted in the district’s cost containment efforts.
Despite the challenges, Swartz feels the budget will be more than sufficient to meet all of its needs over the next fiscal year.
Swartz also noted that the 26-27 budget will not exceed the RNR, which led KVOE News to ask why the district needed to hold a hearing on the matter if the RNR was not going to be exceeded. He explained it is simply a formality that must be followed, noting they must conduct the hearing; however, this does not mean they have to vote to exceed.
In other business, USD 253 Director of Human Resources Dr. Erika Mickelson introduced the district’s new school resource officers who will provide security at Emporia High School and Emporia Middle School for the coming year in cooperation with the Emporia Police Department. According to Mickelson, the SROs will be stationed at the schools for both the school day and extracurricular events, namely athletics, throughout the 2026-27 year.
The chosen SROs are Emporia Police Officers and Emporia natives Gabe Withington and Kenny Rodriguez. Mickelson explains that Withington has already begun his role at the high school, with Rodriguez set to begin his duties at a later time once logistics have been worked out by Emporia Police.
Mickelson says she hopes the presence of law enforcement will act as a major deterrent to any serious emergency situations in the future.
Withington says that he hopes the same, but says that in the event of an emergency, the police department having “Boots on the ground” from the get-go will allow for a more efficient response.
As mentioned, Rodriguez and Withington are both natives of the city of Emporia and Rodriguez says he is very proud to have been tapped for the position, calling it a “full-circle” moment. Like Mickelson and Withington, Rodriguez says he hopes having EPD on site will help to reduce the chances of a major emergency and will also give all students and staff more peace of mind during the school day.
The USD 253 Board of Education is next scheduled to convene on Wednesday, September 2nd at 6 pm inside the Mary Herbert Education Center for a special meeting. That meeting will see the district review the findings of a state opinion on the closure of Logan Avenue Elementary School and potentially vote on whether or not to move forward with the school’s closure at the end of the coming academic year.
Additional information from Wednesday’s meeting can be found via the district’s website, USD253.org.
