Total enrollment at Great Bend USD 428 is up slightly from the previous year, boosted in part by an increase in preschool students, Superintendent Khris Thexton said.
Heading into the first day of school, student enrollment was 2,899, compared to 2,873 in 2023-2024.
There were 260 preschoolers enrolled as of this week, compared to 93 last year. This was due to the opening of the new Little Panther Preschools at 1809 24th St. Students as young as 3 years old can attend the preschool and those who are 2 now can start preschool as soon as they turn 3.
The breakdown this year by grade is:
• Pre-K 260
• Kindergarten 178
• 1st 178
• 2nd 194
• 3rd 188
• 4th 204
• 5th 184
• 6th 182
• 7th 248
• 8th 207
(Total for GBMS - 455)
• 9th 209
• 10th 217
• 11th 227
• 12th 226
(Total for GBHS - 879)
Enrollment figures by grade were not available, but last year there were 973 students enrolled at Great Bend High School at the start of the fall semester.
The official headcount will be based on the number of students enrolled on Sept. 20.
Budget hearing set to exceed RNR
The Great Bend USD 428 Board of Education approved a budget for publication in the Great Bend Tribune at Monday’s meeting. That budget appears as a legal notice in the Aug. 17 edition of the paper. The public budget hearing is set for 5:05 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, at the District Education Center, 1809 24th St. Five minutes earlier, at 5 p.m., the board will hold a hearing on its intent to exceed the revenue tax rate for the 2024-2025 school year.
The operating budget starts with 20 mills levied across the state (the first $75,000 in appraised value is exempt). The supplemental general budget, also called the Local Option Budget, calls for a 16.930 mill levy, compared to 14.143 last year. The capital outlay tax rate is set at 8.0 mills, compared to 7.959 last year. The total mill levy is 44.930, raising just over $8 million, compared to last year’s 42.102 that raised $7,865,949.
“This is not set in stone,” Superintendent Khris Thexton told the school board Monday. After the budget hearing, the district can approve the rates as published or it may approve a lower rate. It may not exceed the published budget without publishing a new budget.
