Republic FFA brings home the bacon; tax levy, summer success discussed at board of education meeting

School was nearly back in session in Republic as the board of education met on Aug. 20 to hold their last meeting before the school year begins.
 
Officials delivered updates on the goings-on throughout summer school, including a big showing season for Republic FFA. The board also discussed raising the tax rate after taking a voluntary rollback last year.
 
FFA students and teachers stood before the board and informed them of their recent success over the summer.
 
Republic FFA’ers are among the few with the luxury of an on-campus farm. The students utilize this farm to breed and raise animals for showing. They did so over this summer, showing 18 head of livestock throughout the season; 11 of those were born on the school farm.
 
The students attended 17 different shows and took home a grand champion designation on five separate occasions along with two division winners at the Ozark Empire Fair. Students also boasted more than 20 class winners at local shows.
 
The aggies also had the opportunity to deliver a tour of their on-campus farming operation to elementary students in summer school.
 
Tax rate
At the same meeting, the board also discussed raising their tax levy from the previous year, when they took a voluntary rollback. The goal, according to Superintendent Tyler Overstreet, is to recapture part of that rollback.
 
The 2025 tax levy was set at $4.0292 per $100 of assessed value; the newly proposed number for 2026 is $4.1147; $3.09 of this would go to operations costs, $0.94 would go toward debt service, and $0.08 for capital expenditures.
 
This decision was made because of a shortfall in state funding and uncertainty regarding future funding, said Overstreet.
 
In 2026, the Republic School District experienced a $1.1 million shortfall from the state with a projected $1.8 million shortfall in fiscal year 2027.
 
“When we look down the road to fiscal year ’28, education financial experts say that may be more grim than what we’ve already experienced,” said Overstreet.
 
The new rate would allow the district to recapture around $500,000 to make up for the shortfalls.
 
A public hearing regarding the new rate is to be held at a later date.
 
Enrollment
Enrollment for the district is up, said Overstreet, however only slightly. This year 5,176 students have currently registered to attend classes in the district, compared to 5,169 a year ago. Overstreet expects enrollment to grow modestly throughout the first few months of the school year as new students trickle in.