The Putnam County School Board adopted its final budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and set a total millage rate of 6.865 mills after a public hearing and unanimous roll-call votes, the board announced at its meeting.

Director of finance Kimberly Mann told the board she would transmit the district’s annual financial report (ESE 348) to Tallahassee that night and summarized the accounting changes that were included in the final numbers. "The ESE 348 ... is very much like Jonathan's budget document. It's gonna show the revenues and expenditures and then the long term liabilities for the school district," Mann said.

The final budget totals and millage decisions followed a presentation by budget staff explaining how state-set components of the millage and voter-approved bond debt affect local property taxes. "Our rollback millage rate is 5.3291. The proposed millage rate ignoring debt service is 5.289 and will generate only 98.89% of the same tax revenue from 2024 to 2025," presenter Jonathan Odom said. He said the district’s total proposed millage (6.865 mills) is higher than last year’s 6.13 mills because of a state-required adjustment and debt service tied to the November 2022 $300 million bond referendum; the district received a second bond issuance of $100 million in June 2025.

Why it matters: The board said most of the added tax burden is to service voter-approved bond debt for new school construction, while residents said the county’s property owners bear a disproportionate share of that cost. The public hearing offered residents an opportunity to question the numbers and press the board for alternatives before the board adopted the roll rates, fund budgets and required state resolutions.

Key votes and totals

- The board set the final required local effort at 3.041 mills (including a 0.018 mills prior period funding adjustment) and approved the discretionary millage of 0.748 mills, capital millage of 1.5 mills and debt service millage of 1.576 mills. The board passed a motion adopting a total millage rate of 6.865 mills, which it recorded as 1.11% below the rollback rate for some components but higher overall than last year because of debt service needs.

- The board adopted the district’s fund budgets by roll call: general fund $126,388,950.53; debt service fund $14,053,830.07; capital projects fund $233,319,827.26 (primarily bond-funded school construction); special revenue funds $28,059,244.60; internal service funds $44,329,944.87; permanent funds $151,835.72; enterprise funds $26,740,577.01. The district-wide total final budget the board adopted was recorded as $473,044,210.06.

What the board said: Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized that state-determined millage components — the required local effort (RLE) and prior-period adjustment — must be levied to receive Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) funds and that the only way to raise additional operating millage is via a voter-approved referendum or similar mechanism. Odom explained the composition of the total millage in five parts and said the voted debt millage (1.576 mills) covers repayment for the portion of the bond program approved by voters.

Public comments and concerns

Several residents urged the board to reconsider how the tax burden is distributed and to make future ballot language clearer. Diane Kelly, who identified herself as a Putnam County resident, questioned the fairness of relying primarily on property owners to repay bonds and urged the board to "allocate the burden of this debt" more broadly. "You're asking me as a property owner to pay top quartile dollars for bottom quartile performance," Kelly said, citing the district's recent "C" grade and per‑student spending figures she reviewed.

Senior resident Dory Campo said rising property taxes threaten retirees on fixed incomes: "I don't wanna have to go back to work. I retired 5 years ago. But if I have to, I have to." Another resident, Laura Hickman, asked whether bond-funded work would include additional security measures for schools: "Are there going to be, like, metal detectors? Is there going to be improved security for the students?"

Board response and next steps

Board members acknowledged the concerns, reminded speakers that many elements of school construction and safety are driven by state Department of Education requirements, and urged residents to contact state lawmakers about exemptions and tax policy. The board pointed to the district’s audit requirements under state law and to the fact that the capital budget reflects commitments tied to the voter-approved bond program and the June bond issuance.

The board also voted to accept the annual financial report (ESE 348) to be transmitted to the state and approved the required state resolutions and district summary budget forms that the district must file with the Florida Department of Education and Department of Revenue. The board recorded the adoption of the district summary budget and the resolution determining revenues and millages by roll call; each recorded vote was in the affirmative.

Ending

Board members said they will continue public outreach about the budget and noted lawmakers in Tallahassee are discussing broader property-tax measures. Staff and the board encouraged residents who want more detail to review the district’s posted budget breakdowns and to contact district offices for line‑item or program-level information.