Time as a Resource

About a month ago I published a piece titled 'Newton's Law of Motion'. In that article, my focal point was property tax reform. We discussed the idea that if we reduce one side of the budget ledger, we have to reduce the opposite side of the ledger an equal amount or risk a spending deficit. Sounds simple in theory. In fact, on the revenue side it probably is. Reduce income by $200,000? Ok, done (not really, but hang with me a minute). The challenge comes when you have to balance that reduction out on the expenditure side of the ledger. Turning theory to practice becomes a much steeper hill to climb. Human nature would suggest everyone is in favor or reducing the expenditure side of the ledger: until it impacts a program or initiative that is near and dear to their own hearts. Exhibit 'A': Just turn on the local news tonight and watch the story about any business, school, local government that is cutting costs. 

In any event, I digress. Today isn't about budget cuts or property tax reform. It's about time. In my annual convocation address I always make the point that we only have 178 days of student instruction. We need to make them count. Over the course of the school year that clock continues to run, as do my narration of reminders, for example: The 100th day of school (on the day this is being written it is actually the 132nd day)! Or, in my message right after we return from spring break: We are now in the final stretch of the school year, starting our second week of the final quarter of the school year. I do this not to wish away the days with a longing for the warm relaxation of summer break, but to create a sense of urgency. Our principals are focused on teacher pacing. Are they hitting all the benchmarks? Will they finish their curriculum in time? Teachers are focused on just one more chance to move the needle on student achievement for their students.

One could probably argue that time is our most valuable commodity or resource; surpassing even financial effort. After all, we can replenish our revenue. We can find ways to bolster income streams. The one thing we cannot do is turn back time. Once today is gone, it's gone forever. We'll never get it back so it is incumbent on us to use our days and our time wisely. 

Have you ever heard the quote, 'show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value?' I think that is a fair statement. I'll change it a bit though: 'show me your schedule and I'll tell you what you value'. In case you are curious, our daily schedule is 405 minutes of complex collaboration across 3 attendance centers. It is balanced in such a way that changing one component of the schedule at the high school can have a ripple effect across the district, which could ultimately impact when kindergarten has music class. Now, if you were to look at that kindergarten schedule, or any elementary classroom schedule for that matter it would become pretty evident what is valued most in our daily allotment of 405 minutes. Literacy instruction. I'm sure you've heard me say this before. The most important thing that happens in elementary school is that we teach kids how to read. Full stop. Without the ability to read, you cannot function in society. Our schedule reflects that value. The investment we have made in teacher training reflects that value. 

We obviously can't forget about other subjects and content areas. Those too are both important, and required. Math is a close second. Now, it probably wouldn't be fair to rank the remainder of the content because at this point bias begins to enter the picture. Personally, I might rank music higher for example than some other content. That's not really the point. The point is that we have to fit all of those other content areas into our 405 daily minutes. Not just because they are required by the Chapter 12 accreditation standards, but also to ensure that we are turning out well rounded citizen problem solvers. 

There is constant stress on the schedule not just during the annual exercise of negotiation among building principals for time, but on vendors who would like to sell or add just one more program to our already packed daily regimen. They have just the trick, strategy, or program to solve whatever problem ails us. All we need is just a bit of time in the schedule. Or, (and I'm finally getting to the point here today) the legislature adds one more requirement to the schedule. We have to ask, at what cost? And I'm not necessarily talking about the financial implication (of which there almost always undoubtedly is).

So we finally arrive at the point of today's missive. HF2676, aptly named the governor's MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) bill. It has had more amendments added to it that ornaments on a Christmas tree. Now, the bill has some good stuff in it. Even the amendments that aren't so great come from a position of genuine desire to improve the health of our youth. The trouble is Newton's Law of Motion. Let me explain. Perhaps the most problematic of amendments is a new physical education requirement. Under this proposal, students in grades 1-8 would be required to take 30 minutes of PE each day and complete the presidential fitness test. In addition, students in grades K-8 would be required to have 120 minutes of physical activity each week that is not PE (in other words, recess). At the high school, students in grades 9-12 would be required to participate in an extra or co-curricular activity as a condition of graduation. For starters, it would undoubtedly require additional staff. Assuming we have the financial capacity to staff the program might be the easy part.

We have 405 minutes a day. Those minutes are finite. If we add anything to the schedule, anything; it will mean that we have to take those minutes away from somewhere else.

Do You Own the School?

It's hard for our youngest students to conceptualize what it is exactly that I do. They understand that teachers are in charge of the classroom and that the principals are the 'boss', but when they learn that I am the principal's boss; well that is typically beyond the grasp of their little minds. A few years back, one of the kindergarten students was convinced that my job title was 'Intendent' and that I was just really good (you get it, right?). Last week I was stopped in the hallway and asked if I owned the school. No, I said. But your mom and dad do. You want to talk about a concept that is well beyond their comprehension!

It's true though. All of us who pay property taxes have an ownership stake in this school district. We are all investors in this great enterprise. What then, should be our expected ROI? In his 'Notes on the State of Virginia' written in 1781, Thomas Jefferson argued that public education was essential for preserving a free, stable republic by preventing tyranny and ensuring informed citizens. He also proposed that a system of taxes should pay for the education of the public, arguing this is far cheaper than paying the costs of a corrupt government. 

So what, and how does that apply to 2026? I kind of think about it like this. Preservation of the republic? Sure, if we want to keep this system running for the next 250 years, we would be wise to make certain our young citizens are well versed in what it is we aspire to in our continuing quest for the more perfect union. But as a more practical matter, we need youth ready to take the reins from us when we hang up the saddle. To keep things running smoothly while we enjoy our golden years. Have the tools and skills necessary to solve the problems we haven't gotten to yet. In 1848, Horace Mann penned his essay on public education, 'The Great Equalizer of the Conditions of Men'. In it, he suggested that our great educational enterprise is the supplier of artists, presidents, nurses, doctors, and leaders of our armies. 

Today then, I want to spend some time talking with you about that investment for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1, 2026; just mere days from the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence! That investment of course being the property tax levy for the new year. As I shared with you a year ago, the property tax statement that is going to be landing in your mailboxes over the next few days isn't going to give you a whole lot of useful information. It is confusing and isn't at all user friendly. For more information on how to interpret that statement, please refer to my post 'Understanding Your Property Tax Statement'. Or, better yet you can go to our website and calculate your property taxes using this calculator that I think is pretty user friendly. The table to the right depicts the property tax rate for fiscal year 2026 and the proposed property tax rate for fiscal year 2027. The proposed rate for fiscal year 2027 is $17.20512. By clicking on that icon, it will take you to the calculator where you can input your property valuations in the shaded cells. There are directions included to help you find your valuations, but if you need any help, please don't hesitate to reach out! Now, be careful! If you change any of the other cells it will mess up the formula. If that happens, I would recommend simply going back to the original link and downloading a new calculator. The middle section of the calculator assumes your property value remained the same from one fiscal year to another. I can promise, your property value did not stay the same. This sample is merely meant to illustrate the impact of the rollback percentage, which is the current way property tax relief is delivered in state code. Keep in mind the legislature continues to contemplate property tax reform so I anticipate these rates will change depending on the outcome of the legislative session.

Now the fair question to ask is why are property taxes increasing and comparatively speaking, why does it seem like Hudson is higher when compared against other taxing authorities? The answer is somewhat complex, so I'll to break it into three main points.

The first thing to understand is that geographically (and comparatively) speaking, the Hudson Community School District is small. At roughly 57 square miles, our district is one of the smallest in the state. Furthermore, outside of what is considered 'in town' we are pretty sparsely populated. Moreover, there are very few commercial businesses inside the district to increase the overall property valuation. The more commercial enterprises in a taxing authority, the higher the valuation. This means the tax burden is spread out. Because of our lack of commercial real estate, the tax burden is carried primarily by residential property owners: that's you and me. In Iowa school finance, this is what is known as a 'property poor' school district. Not to be confused with socio-economic status, this merely refers to overall gross property value and the lack of industry to share the tax burden.

Which leads to the second point. All along what we refer to as the northern tier (for the sake of this discussion, I'm going to further isolate this tract of property to that between highway 20 and Ridgeway Avenue). All of this property is in what is known as a TIF (tax increment finance) district. TIF is an economic development tool used to encourage commercial development (yes, this is in the Hudson Community School District). The incentive works a bit like this: you build a business and we'll give you property tax rebates for twenty years. Think about this: the total value of all the property in our district is $311,993,952. I know, it's a lot. But here's the rub. Just $239,432,018 is used to calculate property taxes. So, $72,561,934 or $23% of our property value is in TIF districts. Among the highest in the state. What does that mean for you and me? It means your property tax rate would be $1.48 lower than what it currently is. 

The last piece that I want to talk about is funding our special education programs. Funding for special education programs is very different from general education programming and is largely governed by the federal IDEA. Each student has an individualized plan that is developed by a team that includes teachers, administrators, and parents. Essentially, if the team decides a particular service is warranted, we are required by federal law to make those accommodations. This may include a specialized school, transportation, nursing services, paraprofessional services, and even some equipment. Spoiler alert: it is very common in Iowa for school districts to operate special education programs with deficit spending. Hudson is no different. Now, depending on the level of services needed, each of these students will have extra 'weighting' applied to them. A regular education student generates 1.0 funding: $8,283. Depending on the level of services needed, some students may generate up to 3.74: $30,978. That's a lot, right? Well everything that I mentioned above can come with a price tag upwards of $90,000. Now, we have asked the state to change these weightings for decades to no avail. Because of that lack of movement, the overage (or deficit) is paid by you and me.

Mann closes his 1848 essay like this, "Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of social machinery...For the creation of wealth, then-for the existence of a wealthy people and a wealthy nation, intelligence is the grand condition". That, is hopefully our return on investment.