Glenwood School District Tax Levy Dropping For 3rd Consecutive Year
The Glenwood Community School District’s tax rate is going down for the third straight year.
The Glenwood Board of Education unanimously approved the $33.3 million total expenditures budget for the fiscal 2026-2027 year earlier this month. That budget figure is down over $2 million from the current year and represents a 2% reduction to the district’s tax levy. Next year’s property tax levy will go down to $12.99 per $1,000 of taxable property valuation. That’s down from the current fiscal year’s rate of $13.26 per $1,000 and $14.50 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Glenwood Superintendent Dr. Nicole Kooiker said the budget trimming comes as education funding is shrinking or staying stagnant while the cost of education continues to go up. For the next year, the state supplemental aid (SSA) is set at $8,148 per student, an increase of 2%, or about $160 per student.
“We made intentional budget cuts,” Kooiker said. “But with some things going up, we had to be planful for those additional costs, like in gas. We had to adjust there because those costs have gone up considerably and we have to transport students to and from school and to sporting events.
“So that makes us look at where that money has to come from and where do we save. Those are the conversations we’re having that are important to have so we can plan accordingly.”
Kooiker said it’s been the district’s goal to continue to reduce the school’s tax rate. She estimates Glenwood is in about the 50th percentile statewide among school district tax rates.
“That’s a good area to be in if we can maintain that goal,” she said of shrinking the district’s tax burden. “We’re always trying to reduce property tax rates for our local community. With that said, we’re also trying to provide the best services possible for our students and families and school system. It’s a careful balance and it requires planning.”
The district’s budget setting isn’t just a seasonal process confined to the spring. It’s a year-long process, Kooiker said. She meets monthly with Tim Reinert, the district’ chief financial officer and building leaders “to set a budget and guide and direct and let them know what they can expect through the year.”
“We watch those numbers closely,” Kooiker went on. “Needs of course do pop up and you’ll have to make adjustments and shifts and move money from one place to another, but people definitely know what they have for their budget, and we watch that closely and do a good job of it. That helps us with our financial planning when do get into the ‘budget season.’”
Like any financial consideration in education, keeping cuts away from students is always a priority.
“I never want our students to know we made cuts,” she said. “We don’t want families to be able to tell. We have to be smart about knowing what we need to provide and also what we do not need to spend money on.”
Each year the district uses its strategic plan, both long and short term, as a guide to achieve its goals within student achievement, resource management and culture and climate.
“Those are the three big buckets, the three areas we focus on and there’s different goals within each of them we try to watch and maintain throughout the course of the year,” Kooiker said.
Staffing remains the district’s biggest expense. Roughly 80 percent of the budget are personnel costs, Kooiker said.
The district was on a staffing budget reduction last year and that’s still the case this year, Kooiker said. She hopes to not have to make that sort of belt tightening a regular occurrence, but when a district employee leaves their position, the district will always analyze whether they will be replaced or not.
“That’s a hard thing when you’re not used to it, but with that being said, with less students you have to have less expenditures going out because the majority of our dollars come through the students that we serve.\
“We watch that closely and we try to make wise team decisions on when we replace, what we replace at and what’s the cost of that, so we’re smart with our dollars. We want to be made sure we’re financially stable for years to come.”
The district’s enrollment was up 42 students this year, meaning since educational funding is a year in the rear, that financial spike will appear in the 2026-2027 funding round. That’s a boost the district needed, Kooiker said.
“We’re looking good for next year,” she added. “There’s things we’re watching in legislation and increasing costs that we’re watching close.”
Kooiker is keeping her eye on proposed measures in the legislature that would impact the budget. One of those measures could change how districts use their Secure and Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) funds – the statewide 1-cent sales tax that provides revenue for school infrastructure – and the other would change how district’s manage their investments.
Kooiker also pointed to the continued rise of insurance costs for staff and other inflationary costs of regular business expenses, such as fuel and printing.
While Glenwood’s enrollment was up this year, a dip is expected next year. Glenwood’s senior class includes 153 students, while the incoming kindergarten class is currently at 99 students right now.
“We are planning for that student reduction in our count next year,” she said. “We are watching that closely, so we can plan for it. We don’t like it. But there’s a lot there we can’t control. But what can do, is we put it out there how amazing this district is to draw in students and families and show them we’re here to support them.”
When it comes to supplementing the budget, grants and community partnerships are always a priority. Both came up big in the district’s $4 million renovation of the Kids Place Daycare and central office building on the former Glenwood Resource Center campus completed last summer.
The support, the work, the maintenance, and the costs of running a school district with over 2,000 students is an ongoing balancing act.
“We prioritize what is a need and what is a want,” she said. “We do that with our own home and how we budget and we do it in the school district. We watch our student numbers very closely, students coming in and students going out. The goal is to provide all programs and opportunities to serve all Glenwood students.”