Public budget hearings for Great Bend USD 428 will conclude with a meeting at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at the District Education Center, 1829 24th St. The hearings began at the Sept. 9 school board meeting but were kept open because the district had failed to post notices on its website for 10 days prior to the meeting.

The first item of business Friday will be to reconvene the Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing and recognize any visitors. Then the board is expected to approve a resolution to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for financing the 2024-2025 budget. After that hearing adjourns, the budget hearing that began on Sept. 9 will reconvene. 

Visitors will be recognized and there will be a review of USD 428’s 2024-2025 budget, as published in the Great Bend Tribune on Aug. 27 and posted on the USD 428 website for the required 10 days prior to the continuation of the hearing.

At the close of both hearings, a special board of education meeting will begin. Items on the agenda are approval of the 2024-2025 budget and approval of a resolution to adopt the local option budget (LOB) percentage at 32% of the general budget for the 2024-2025 year. That is the statewide average, which is the maximum percentage that may be authorized unless the district adopts a resolution to exceed it.