NORFOLK, Neb. - The Norfolk school board is lowering its budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The budget passed 6-0 on Monday with little discussion.
 
Superintendent of Business Erik Wilson said the budget is taking almost a 5 percent decrease, or roughly $4.7 million. Cuts are included to the schools cooperative, but Wilson wants to reassure parents that students won't be significantly affected.
 
“The students wouldn’t necessarily see the difference on that,” said Wilson. “Mostly what they’re going to see the difference in is the cuts we made in consolidation of positions.”
 
Last year's budget was set at $96,747,539.91 and this year is set at $92,001,244.82. 
 
Some cuts include certain employee benefits, school nutrition, and the special building fund. A big decrease from the previous year is not having to budget for renovations to the middle school.
 
The district's tax rate is also dropping. The levy will move from $0.92514 per $100 of assessed value to $0.8737 this year.
 
The school district has also budgeted for over $8 million in its necessary cash reserve fund, which Wilson doesn’t expect to tap into.
 
“So that's our full budget that we have," said Wilson. "We don’t anticipate ever spending that full budget, but we do have to budget for every one of those funds.”