MANKATO – The Mankato Area School Board took the first steps towards figuring out their 2026-27 levy on Monday.
Each summer, districts work with the state’s Department of Education to figure out their preliminary levy ahead of certifying. MAPS Director of Business Services Amanda Heilman says that, while they don’t have an exact number yet, there’s still some action the board can take.
“We’re basically asking the board to certify the maximum amount allowed as of right now, the state still has a lot of stuff that they’re trying to work through … so we wouldn’t even have a number to bring forward tonight anyway, so we will be recommending to certify at the maximum which is best practice,” Heilman said.
Heilman explained that some of the things the state still needed to work through included some of the district’s debt service numbers and the funding for their long-term facility maintenance plan that they approved in July. Approving at the maximum means that, if the levy number changes from what it is currently, the board won’t have to meet again to approve a new preliminary levy.
“Our school district doesn’t have the same ability to just arbitrarily … set a number that we are going to increase property taxes (like a city or county) … unless we should take less money from the state, the number is what the number is,” Board Member Patrick Baker said.
Heilman gave a presentation to the board at their meeting on Monday, part of which included an update on this year’s budget, comparing their financials to districts similar in size.
According to that presentation, taxes account for about a quarter of the district’s revenue, with 66% coming from state aid and 10% from other sources such as interest and activity fees. Comparing financials from last year to districts around the area, MAPS’ debt service sat almost $400 below the state average at $1,198; the lowest of the districts selected which included Owatonna, Prior Lake and Rochester.
When it comes to the district’s total taxes, they sit about $50,000 above the state average with a total of $4,229. That’s a total lower than Rochester and Northfield, but about $600 above Prior Lake and $400 above Owatonna.
The board approved using the maximum allowable levy. Heilman says they should have more specific numbers in by Sept. 30.