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2025 Tax Assessment for an SMSD Home, median Value of $315,000

Taxing Entity	Rate	Total Taxes Due
512 BOND	7.451	269.91
512 SCH CAPITAL OUTLAY	8.000	289.80
512 SCH GEN	20.000	552.00
512 UNIFIED	15.435	559.13

Note. SMSD 2025 total mill levy of 50.886 remained the lowest among Johnson County
school districts, with 53.618 at the next lowest, up to 66.803 mill levy.

512 BOND

Bond taxes support the rebuild, renovation and repair of schools and other facilities for 5.8 million square feet of facility space. SMSD residents approved the current bond on January 26, 2021, with a Yes vote of 69.4%. While voters approved a mill levy increase for this bond, no increase to the mill levy was required and the 512 BOND tax rate remained at about 7.4 mills ($85 per $100,000 in home value). Each year’s tax rate is determined by the calculated debt being paid of in that fiscal year. Link to district webpage for more information - www.smsd.org/bond-2021.

Bond funds have been invested across the district to:

• Rebuild 5 elementary schools,
• Update the other 45 schools and educational centers,
• Make playgrounds accessible,
• Strengthening building security, and more.
   

512 SCHOOL CAPITAL OUTLAY

Capital outlay taxes support routine maintenance of the district’s 49 facilities. Regular cycle projects may target asphalt, roofing, HVAC, safety, hardware, and such. Capital outlay dollars can also be used for the salary of maintenance and custodial staff, which SMSD caps at 25% of the tax revenue to ensure sufficient building and infrastructure upkeep. Kansas school districts have the authority to collect up to 8 mills.

 

512 SCHOOL GENERAL

General Fund taxes support the daily operations to educate SMSD students. This tax is mandated by state law, requiring every property owner to contribute 20 mills in local taxes for K-12 public education. The first $75,000 in residential home value is now excluded from this tax. Taxes collected from this assessment are sent to the state and are paid to school districts through the school finance formula.

 

512 UNIFIED

Combination tax assessment made up of:

Supplemental General (LOB) – voter-approved local tax assessment that generates additional operating revenue for the district. State statute requires that a minimum 15% of the general fund be levied for the LOB. SMSD residents have approved the maximum amount of local authority, ever since the state law was established in 1992, which at present is capped at 33% of the SMSD general fund budget.

Cost of Living – funds provide additional budget authority for districts with high residential housing cost - capped based on a consumer price index formula.

Special Liability Expense Fund – funds available to defend the district and its employees against lawsuits and/or liability claims.

Special Assessment – funds collected to pay other taxing municipalities for the district’s portion of special assessment taxes on district-owned property.

 

HOW IS MY PROPERTY TAX CALCULATED?

Appraised Property Value – The market value of your property as determined by the county appraiser.

Assessment Rate – All property has an assessment rate, the percentage of a property’s value that may be taxed, set by the Kansas constitution. The current rate for residential property is 11.5%.

Mill Levy – The number is set by the Board of Education as part of the budget process. A mill levy is equal to    1/1000. For example, 8.000 mills would equate to 0.008.
 

Appraised Property Value × Assessment Rate × Mill Levy = Taxes Owed
 

BOND - $315,000 × 11.5% × 7.451/1000 = $269.91 CAPITAL OUTLAY - $315,000 x 11.5% × 8.000/1000 = $289.80 
GENERAL - ($315,000-$75,000) × 11.5% × 20.000/1000 = $552.00
UNIFIED - $315,000 × 11.5% × 15.435/1000 = $559.13

Total 2025 Taxes Paid for Shawnee Mission School District on a $315,000 residential property = $1,670.84

 

REVENUE NEUTRAL RATE (RNR)

The RNR is the mill levy rate that generates the same amount of property tax revenue in the current tax year as the previous year. The Kansas legislature mandated that “no tax rate in excess of the revenue neutral rate shall be levied by the governing body … unless a resolution … has been approved by the governing body.” Governing bodies that seek to have their budgets maintain the same purchasing power year over year tend to approve exceeding the RNR.

Link to the District website for the Notice of Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing.