Lee County School Board adopts 5.319 millage rate and $2.92 billion final budget

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Lee County School Board on Sept. 9 adopted final millage rates and a $2,919,795,073 budget for fiscal year 2025–26, approving a total millage of 5.319 mills, a 1.43% increase over the state-calculated rollback rate.

The board adopted the required local effort millage of 3.071 mills (to raise $498,608,981), the basic discretionary millage of 0.748 mills (to raise $121,445,626) and the capital outlay millage of 1.5 mills (to raise $243,540,694). Superintendent Dr. Carlin presented the five recommendations and each passed on unanimous recorded votes (6–0).

The final budget totals $2,919,795,073 and is organized into five parts the board approved: general operating ($1,281,739,638), special revenue ($131,705,825), debt service ($99,018,536), capital outlay ($1,181,726,237) and internal service ($225,604,837). Finance staff said the general fund — the district’s day-to-day operating budget — is about $1.3 billion and that capital and general funds are the largest components.

“This hearing is the second of two public hearings required under Florida statutes to give the public an opportunity to provide input into the proposed millage levy and the budget for this fiscal year,” a finance presenter told the board during the hearing, referring to the notice process that included the property appraiser’s Truth in Millage (TRIM) mailing.

Officials explained the millage decision reflects both an increased tax roll and a small rise in the district’s rate. The rollback rate calculated for the district was 5.2441 mills; the board set 5.319 mills. Finance staff said the tax roll for the county is estimated at about $169 billion, a roughly 5.39% increase over the previous year, and that the higher roll combined with the adopted mills will generate more gross revenue than last year. Staff also noted that required local effort increases reduce the state’s contribution under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), so the district will not retain the full amount of new money on the local roll.

Board members and staff described the budget’s major allocations: the general fund (44% of the total) supports classroom instruction and student services; capital funds (about 40.5% of the total) are funded from local property taxes and sales tax and will target safety, maintenance, technology and new classroom space; debt service and internal service funds cover outstanding obligations and district insurance programs. Staff said the district maintains a 3% contingency as required by state rules and has additional reserves.

During the public comment period, Kathy Wynne, a former prevention specialist whose position was eliminated, urged the board to retain prevention services and said resources the district developed should be used. She told the board she could accept a reduced schedule and asked the board to consider using settlement funds to retain work she described as valuable. “We are not done. Thank you,” Wynne said.

Board member Giovannelli asked whether schools will face personnel reductions under the adopted budget. Finance and HR staff responded that some schools showed lower enrollment than projected at the day-10 count and that district HR is working to reassign staff to schools with openings. The board and superintendent characterized these realignments as a routine part of the start-of-year staffing process rather than a systemwide layoff plan.

The board conducted the required motions and votes for each recommendation: adopting the required local effort millage, adopting the basic discretionary and capital outlay millages, adopting resolutions determining revenues and millages, and adopting the final budget and related resolution. Each motion carried by a 6–0 recorded vote.

After the votes the board thanked finance and administrative staff for work completed under compressed timelines and closed the meeting.