OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa Community School District has over $100 million in spending authority, but doesn't expect that money to be exhausted next year.
"We're not going to spend that much," he said during a budget presentation and public hearing Monday at Career Campus. "That's just our authority, and I always like to point out authority is not cash, so nobody has to get excited at that number."
However, residents can be pleased that a proposed 32-cent tax increase has been taken off the table and the school district will continue its consistent property tax levy rate for fiscal year 2026.
The district has set the rate at $14.67 per $1,000 of taxable valuation; since 2017, that number has ranged from $14.75 to $14.11, the lower number the result of pandemic years when the district didn't need to make as much of a property tax ask because of federal money that flowed into the district's coffers.
"It provides a stable and predictive environment for businesses and taxpayers, and we have put a focus on that as long as I've been here," Berg said. "When I look back at the history, the property tax rate has been remarkably consistent."
Property tax is a small percentage of the district's revenue sources, about 20%, while most of the revenue stream comes from state supplemental aid (SSA), which is set by the state legislature. Most of the funding from SSA goes into the district's general fund to pay salaries, introduce curriculum and other facets that deal with the overall administration of the district.
And while the district is expected to have about $93 million in total revenue next year, there are lingering concerns that are mostly out of the school district's control.
Most importantly, the taxable valuation per student in Ottumwa is the worst in the state.
"It's been that way for decades, and it's not even close," Berg said. "It's just a struggle that we have here, where once we apply that tax rate to the valuations, it just doesn't generate as much as other communities based on their valuations."
Also, though enrollment ticked up by 11 students last fall and open enrollment out of the district has stabilized, the expenditures from students leaving the district continue to be significant.
"When you look at the number of kids that leave, the funds we get have to flow through to the district they choose to go to, and our preference would always be to have those kids in Ottumwa schools, and then use those resources to educate them here," Berg said. "We're seeing some results, but that'll continue to be a focus area."