SMSD Board of Education Passes 2023-2024 Budget

At its meeting on Monday, August 28, 2023, the Shawnee Mission School District Board of Education approved the total published budget for the 2023-2024 school year in the amount of $580,716,357. 

The Board also established the estimated mill rate of 50.799. The Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD) continues to have the lowest mill levy rate of any school district in Johnson County. The district continues to maintain a Aaa bond rating (the highest possible rating), which means that when SMSD seeks to issue bonds, interest rates are highly favorable. 

The SMSD Facilities and Finance committee meets quarterly in public meetings held at the Center for Academic Achievement (CAA) and makes the meeting available online. The committee reviews the district’s financial outlook, receives construction updates and addresses issues related to the district budget cycle. The process is open and transparent, and the public is invited to attend or watch on-line. The District's budget documents and Profile and Needs Assessment can be found on the District's website, under Budget & Finance.

Proposed district operating revenue increased approximately $15.4 million. The major changes include: 

• Increase Base Aid for Student Excellence by 5% to $5,088 (+$8.0 million) 
• Cost of Living percentage increases to 6.57% (+$3.6 million) 
• Increase in enrollment of 134.4 FTE from 2022-23 (+$0.7 million) 
• Decrease in weighted funding (-$1.2 million) 
• Local Option Budget base increases 5% to $5,158 (+$5.0 million) 
• Increase in number of filled special education teachers and reimbursable transportation cost (+$0.7 million) 
• Decrease in interest & miscellaneous revenue (-$1.4 million) 

Proposed district operating expenditures increased approximately $23.1 million. The major changes include: 
 

• Staff Raises/Turnover/Fallout (+$14.5 million) 
• Increase in staffing (+$4.2 million): 
  • +32.1 FTE certified staff, 
  • +3.0 administrative staff, and 
  • +25.5 FTE classified staff 
• Additional staff elections for health insurance and increase of $24/month (+$3.6 million) 
• Other salary & benefit increases (+$1.6 million) 
• Student transportation and fuel increases (+$1.1 million) 
• Utility increases (+$0.8 million) 
• Changes in supplies & services, instructional resources and other line items (-$2.7 million)

The approved budget funds the annual operations of the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD), the third largest school district in Kansas, with more than 26,000 students and approximately 3,570 employees. The district contains 34 elementary schools, five middle schools and five high schools. It also includes an alternative program at Horizons, an Early Childhood Education Center, a Therapeutic Day School, and Signature Programs at the Center for Academic Achievement and the Career and Technical Campus. It’s been consistently ranked among the finest school districts nationwide for its high student performance. The district serves a diverse student population from 14 cities within northeast Johnson County, Kansas, which is 10 miles from downtown Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, visit SMSD.org. 

The school district’s focus is to ensure that each student has a personalized learning plan that prepares them for college and careers, with the interpersonal skills they need for life success. For high school students seeking a higher level of specialized academic study, the district offers Signature Programs which include: Biotechnology, Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Engineering, Animation and Game Design, and Medical Health Science. The district also offers a Signature Program called Project Blue Eagle, held at the Career and Technical Campus, which offers classes in law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medicine.