McCook school board OKs 2025–26 budget, welcomes student member Quinn Taylor

September 9, 2025

McCOOK Neb. — The McCook Board of Education approved the district’s 2025–26 budget and tax request Monday night after holding back-to-back public hearings. The all-funds budget is set at $24,220,971, with a 4% decrease in the overall levy (from 0.899 to 0.863) and a property-tax request of about $9.7 million.

School Business Manager Jeff Gross said the higher tax ask is largely offsetting a drop in state aid.

“We’re asking for about $240,000 extra property taxes, and we lost 150 in state aid,” Gross told the board. “So really, most of what we’re asking… is covering the loss of state [aid].”

What’s changing in the numbers

• Total budget (all funds): $24,220,971

• General Fund: ~3% increase

• All funds change: +1.75%

• Levy rate: 0.899 → 0.863 (–4%)

• Property-tax request: ≈ $9.7 million (up from ≈ $9.4M)

• District valuation: +7.42% (≈ +$77.6M); real growth: +1.16% (≈ $12M)

• State aid: –2.38% (~$150,000)

Gross emphasized that people-related expenses dominate the budget.

“Staff expenditures… is 84% of [the budget],” he said. “We spend almost as much on health insurance for employees (15.5%) as we do for everything else we spend in our district.”

He also noted how McCook’s levy has trended down in recent years.

“In 2022 our system total mill levy was $1.11, and now it is .869,” Gross said.

Because the district remained under the state’s postcard-hearing threshold, no county “pink-postcard” joint tax hearing is required this year.

Facilities, depreciation and near-term needs

Gross reported a depreciation balance of about $1.3 million, with roughly $500,000 rolled over this year to continue saving for big-ticket items. Near-term priorities include:

• Junior High roof (to be addressed within the next year)

• HVAC front-end work and ongoing Senior High plumbing issues

• An activity bus replacement likely within 12–16 months

• Wyland Field lights (installed 1992), with replacement quotes around $300,000–$350,000

• Routine tech rotation (about 150 Chromebooks/year) and continued High School remodel work

Facilities updates already underway include finishing touches to the Senior High gym hallway/commons and dirt work on the parking lot west of the YMCA and tennis courts.

Year 1 of a new school-improvement cycle

Superintendent Grant Norgaard said this is Year 1 of a five-year improvement cycle.

“The big goal before we finish this year is to identify a school improvement goal… and then we’re going to measure that over the course of the next four years,” Norgaard said.

Safety drills (fire, tornado, lockdown, secure, evacuation, and bus) have been conducted district-wide to start the year. On professional development, second-year teachers will attend a PLC Institute in Kansas City, and the high school math team will travel to a specialized Pasadena PLC focused on curriculum and assessment—supported by federal grant dollars.

The district has also begun its teacher recruitment push, sending administrative teams to UNK and Wayne State to attract student teachers with the aim of hiring them after placements.

Other actions

• Swore in Quinn Taylor as the new student board member.

• Accepted the resignation of Deb Goodenberger (K–8 art).

• Approved local substitute certificates.

• Canceled the teaching contract with Deon Allen.

• Accepted a donation to the McCook High School Band in memory of Karen (Gettman) Lieske.