Tax Proposal: Kennedy for USD 348
USD 348 School Board candidates Michael Kennedy, Ken Snyder and Buck Bradley respond to USD 348’s planned 22% year-over-year local tax increase.
Three candidates for Baldwin USD 348 School Board, Michael Kennedy (District 1), Ken Snyder (District 2) and Buck Bradley (District 3) released the following statements regarding the recent 2023 Notice of Estimated Ad Valorem Property Taxes mailed by the Douglas County Clerk to USD 348 Patrons, which indicate the intention of the current USD 348 Board of Education to increase local tax levies for the district from $5.95 million (2022/2023) to $7.27 million per year, a 22% year-over-year increase and representing a 27.5% net increase over two years.
Michael Kennedy, running for the open seat in District 1, and successfully challenged the USD 348 Board of Education at the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) in 2022 for not following Kansas Law (K.S.A. 79-2988) when it increased local tax levies 15.8%, made the following statement: “The current USD 348 School Board’s latest proposed tax increase represents the continued financial assault on its patrons – families, senior citizens, small businesses, farmers, and rental property owners. It’s coming at a time where everyone is facing an explosion in expenses due to untamed inflation and income/wage growth that is not keeping pace, and my concern is their intended action will threaten the viability and diversity of our community. Even with my actions to hold USD 348 accountable last year, their budget still increased 4% in 2022/2023. Now they are looking to recapture the increase they were ordered to refund to taxpayers last year, plus tack on another double-digit percent increase. 2 All told, if they vote for this tax levy on September 14th, it will represent a 27.5% net increase in the annual tax levy over the past two years. Unacceptable.”
Ken Snyder, running for the open seat in District 2 stated, "If you look at the data provided by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), student achievement has no correlation to the amount of money spent by the school district on a per-pupil basis. A district that spends $28,000 per pupil doesn't necessarily have better educational outcomes than a district that spends $13,000. There are many factors influencing expenditures and educational outcomes—but the idea that additional spending will result in improved academic outcomes is simply not true." According to KSDE, USD 348 spent $15,421 per pupil in the 2021-2022 school year.
Buck Bradley, running for the open seat in District 3, made the following statement regarding the 2023 Notice of Ad Valorem Property Taxes: “I was shocked. Most of us are facing around a 13% total increase in our tax bills, with 2/3rds of that increase a result of USD 348. What is this increase going towards? It’s difficult to understand. USD 348 doesn’t have a well-defined long-term plan for the district that is plainly communicated to the taxpayers in terms of spending. We are just expected to ‘be OK’ with the reasoning that it’s ‘for the kids’. The district needs a strategic plan and a direction that is clearly visible and communicated to the taxpayers. Myself, Ken Snyder and Mike Kennedy will work to develop this level of accountability”.
Kennedy concluded with the following: “As a parent with one child still in Baldwin USD 348, I want excellent public schools and to ensure adequate funding for our kids, teachers and facilities. But I am also a member of this community and care about the struggles many are experiencing – we can’t sustain this pace of tax increases. Buck, Ken and I are running on a platform of Academic Excellence and ‘SMART’ Funding – funding that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based as it relates to USD 348’s top goals. As far as taxpayers are concerned, there is nothing ‘SMART’ in USD 348 holding their mill rates constant and using massive increases in assessed valuations to drive the increase in levies – all that does is create bloated budgets and no accountability to direct funds efficiently. Shortly, I’ll release the first counter proposal to USD 348’s tax plan. My proposal looks to save taxpayers approximately $3 million over the next 5 years while putting our schools on firm financial footing.”
All three candidates urge taxpayers to email current USD 348 board members (https://www.usd348.com/district-information/board-of-education/members/) to express concerns about the proposed tax increase and to personally attend the USD 348 Public Hearing on September 14, 2023 at 6:00 pm. “Both actions are important – if people wait until the September 14th meeting to voice concern, it’s practically a done-deal that they will pass this increase. The community needs to voice concern now AND to show up on 9/14”, said Kennedy.
Each voter within the USD 348 school district votes for all 3 district positions plus the “at large” position for the election held on November 7th, 2023. Michael Kennedy’s campaign can be reached at KennedyforUSD348@gmail.com. Ken Snyder’s campaign can be reached at KenforUSD348@gmail.com. Buck Bradley’s campaign can be reached at BuckforUSD348@gmail.com. All three campaigns also have a dedicated page on Facebook.