Nodaway Valley school levy rate to drop

Nodaway Valley School Business Official Amanda Cox presented the school board with a snapshot into the district’s financial trends at their last meeting, which was March 11 in Greenfield.

Information provided to the board and the newspaper shows numbers from the last two school years compared to numbers proposed for this year, which are up for approval at a special meeting 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 1 at the high school.

Total tax dollars raised in 2025 added up to $4.35 million and the levy rate was 13.47188 per thousand; in 2026, revenue was $4.632 per thousand and the levy rate 13.84957. In 2027, projections show $6.1 million in tax revenue with a levy rate drop to 11.01102. This equates to this year’s school-bound property taxes on a house valued at $100,000 being $655 and last year’s being $624. Next year, it would be $539.

Total taxable value for the district, which has continued climbing, totaled $625.1 million in 2025; in 2026, it was $650.3 million. In 2027, it is projected to be just above $1 billion because of the addition of Orient-Macksburg.

Superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland said property tax reform in the works in the state legislature brings a lot of unknowns to financial discussions such as these.

In a somewhat related matter, Nodaway Valley also recently put an update in motion that will add territory to both of their own director districts to absorb all of the Orient-Macksburg territory, allowing someone from that district to join the NV board if they want.