Sarasota County School Board adopts 2025–26 budget, sets total millage at 6.095 amid concerns over school closures and staffing cuts

The Sarasota County School Board voted 5–0 Tuesday to adopt the 2025–26 fiscal year budget and set a total millage rate of 6.095 mills, the board announced after a public hearing and comment period. The adopted breakdown included a required local effort rate of 2.847 mills, a basic discretionary rate of 0.748 mills, a capital outlay rate of 1.5 mills and a voted operating rate of 1.0 mill.

The vote came after the board opened a public hearing at 5:02 p.m. and limited each speaker to two minutes. Board members said the district’s 2025 taxable assessed property values rose 2.9% over 2024 certified values; board materials noted the adopted required local effort millage is slightly below last year’s rollback rate.

The budget’s immediate effect is financial: the board will levy the required millage so the district can participate in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) in fiscal year 2025–26, a staff report explained at the hearing. The board’s adoption of the budget and millage completes the local step required to levy property taxes for the coming school year.

Members of the public used the hearing to press the board on staffing and the possible closure of under‑capacity schools, especially Wilkinson Elementary. Carol Lerner, a Sarasota resident, told the board, “we still have a significant shortfall and we still have 55,000,000 being sucked out of the district budget,” linking the shortfall to state and federal funding changes. Deb Hayes asked why the district’s projected teaching positions changed sharply between budget drafts, saying, “In the most recent budget proposal, that number has changed to a negative 36 position.”

Several speakers connected staffing shortfalls to classroom vacancies and program reductions. Paulina Testerman said a public records request found “there were 50 classrooms last year in Sarasota County that didn't have a teacher for at least 6 months,” and that “25 didn't have a teacher for the entire year.” Kennedy Cole, a Booker High School student, outlined staff losses at Booker, saying the school lost “a behavior coach, an ELL liaison, an ESOL liaison, our assistant bookkeeper, a media aide, an SRO, and two security officers,” and that federal cuts had reduced teaching positions as well.

Speakers also raised state policy as a driver of local change. Mary Compton asked the board to have its legal department review recently passed state ‘‘schools of hope’’ legislation and said, “That's double dipping if they're gonna come use our schools,” referring to concerns about charter operators using district property. Several parents and community members, including Holly Bullard and Leandra Yates, urged more transparency and community engagement before any decisions about school closures.

Board members responded in the meeting. Board member Mike Edwards (board member) acknowledged capacity pressures from expanded school choice and said the district and board would seek more community input on potential changes. Board member Bridget Ziegler (board member) said the board has a fiduciary responsibility to optimize operating dollars and noted longstanding under‑capacity at some schools, adding that the district will work to minimize disruption if changes are made. Chief Financial Officer Gabrielle thanked the budget team for preparing the plan under uncertain conditions.

Formal actions taken at the hearing were limited to adopting millage rates and approving the FY2025–26 budget. The board recorded the millage adoption and the budget adoption as passed 5–0. No vote or final decision on closing any particular school was taken at the hearing; board members said community input and further discussion would continue at later meetings.

The board recessed the special budget meeting after the votes and said it would reconvene at 6:00 p.m. for its regular meeting. Several commenters asked the district to publish school‑level staffing changes and updated spreadsheets that explain year‑to‑year revenue and staffing shifts; board members and commenters said that level of detail would help the public understand how the district arrived at its staffing and budget decisions.

Why this matters: adopting the millage and budget is the central local step that enables the district to collect property tax revenue and receive state funding under the FEFP. Public commenters framed the budget adoption as linked to broader state policy changes and local staffing impacts, calling for legal review, more transparency and community engagement before any school closure decisions move forward.