KSD Budget Builder
KSD Three-Year Budget Builder
Explore the choices and tradeoffs involved in building a sustainable operating budget through FY30.
Great Schools = Great Community
A one-year balanced budget can still leave the district short in future years. This tool lets residents explore how annual choices can compound across three budget years: FY28, FY29 and FY30.
Move through the choices below and watch the projected FY30 operating position change. Each slider represents an annual assumption, while each choice shows the estimated three-year total impact.
Starting point
Revenue assumptions
Operating costs
Board-level choices
Three-year total
| Budget year | Projected balance | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| FY28 | $0 | -- |
| FY29 | $0 | -- |
| FY30 | $0 | -- |
The year-by-year numbers show the estimated operating position for each budget year. The three-year total shows the cumulative estimated impact across FY28, FY29 and FY30.
Starting point
Revenue assumptions
These assumptions are influenced by factors outside the district's direct control, such as state funding and growth in local assessed valuation.
Operating cost choices
Operating costs support the day-to-day work of schools, including people, programs, transportation, technology, utilities and contracted services.
Board-level choices
These choices represent larger policy and funding decisions that would require Board action and, in some cases, voter approval.
Click for more info about debt-service transfers
A debt-service transfer would shift part of the district's existing tax-rate structure from debt service to operations. By itself, that would not increase the district's total tax rate, but it would reduce future debt-service capacity unless paired with another voter-approved action.
Click for more info about household tax impact and senior property tax relief
This Budget Builder estimates district operating revenue and budget balance. It is not a personal property-tax calculator. KSD expects to provide separate household-impact examples as financial assumptions are verified. Clay County administers a Senior Real Estate Property Tax Relief Program for eligible residents. Because individual tax bills and credits vary, KSD will use verified figures when explaining potential household or district revenue impacts.
What other options has KSD considered?
KSD has reviewed revenue and expenditure options beyond a tax increase. These ideas were organized by the School Finance Process Action Team from less disruptive options to increasingly difficult choices. None of these items has been approved. They are included here to show the kinds of tradeoffs the district may need to consider.
Click for more info: Priority 1, earlier and less disruptive options
- Expand activity fees beyond athletics.
- Consider fees for selected transportation services, where legally permissible.
- Explore fee-based childcare or day care services.
- Seek revenue through naming rights and sponsorship opportunities.
- Reduce staffing costs through normal employee attrition rather than layoffs.
Click for more info: Priority 2, more difficult options
- Limit employee compensation increases to salary-schedule step movement rather than providing broader increases.
- Reduce selected middle school programs.
- Further limit transportation services or charge fees for services the district is not legally required to provide.
- Add selected processing or service fees.
- Charge families for summer school transportation.
- Eliminate or consolidate some transportation routes.
- Hold the district's contribution toward employee health insurance at its current level.
- Make additional staff reductions through attrition.
- Establish activity fees based more directly on the cost of individual programs.
Click for more info: Priority 3, options with the greatest impact
- Freeze employee pay.
- Eliminate staff positions beyond reductions achieved through attrition.
- Reduce school resource officer staffing.
- Eliminate or significantly reduce high school programs.
- Reduce transportation to the minimum services required by law.
- Close a school.
- Sell district property.
Your final scenario result
Review your three-year scenario
Use this final result to reflect on the tradeoffs in your scenario. A balanced FY28 does not necessarily mean FY29 and FY30 are sustainable. You can reset the model, adjust your choices above or copy a summary for your own notes.