The Orange County School Board on Sept. 9 unanimously adopted a total millage rate of 6.449 mills to support the district’s final 2025–26 budget and approved the district’s operating, capital and internal service budgets.

The vote followed a detailed presentation by Chief Financial Officer Doreen Concolino and members of the Office of Management and Budget. Vice Chair Bird read the board resolution adopting the millage, which the board approved after a second by Member Felder.

Concolino told the board the total millage includes a required local effort of 3.201 mills, a basic discretionary rate of 0.748 mills, an additional voted millage of 1.000 mills and a capital improvement millage of 1.500 mills, for a total of 6.449 mills. Concolino said the district’s rolled-back tax rate decreased by 0.015 mils, but rising property valuations mean many homeowners and commercial property owners will still see increases in their tax bills; a homeowner with a $355,800 home would pay about $56 more annually under the district’s assumptions.

Concolino summarized budget pressures and notable line items: an incremental teacher-salary allocation of about $7.5 million (with charter schools receiving their proportionate share), a roughly $3.6 million requirement for teacher classroom supply assistance (about $300 per eligible teacher), an estimated $4.9 million increase in Florida Retirement System employer contributions and a 1.39% negotiated increase for school resource officers that will cost the district an estimated $310,000 in 2026. Concolino also said Title I funding adjustments reduced OCPS funding by roughly 3.2% (about $2.3 million) and that an unexpected $4.1 million reduction had affected the 2025 FEFP final disbursement.

Concolino flagged other fiscal risks: uncertainty in the final state FEFP calculation (the district had not yet received the fourth FEFP calculation), pending litigation between Walt Disney World and the Orange County property appraiser that could reduce annual property tax revenue by an estimated $6.5 million to $13 million, and a structural shortfall in the district employee benefits trust that will require transfers from reserves unless claims costs are reduced or revenue increased.

Superintendent José Vasquez presented the balanced budget to the board and asked for adoption. Members raised questions about the state’s reporting of per-student funding and the way the legislature has folded multiple categorical funds into the base student allocation (BSA). Member Salamanca and others warned that when categories are rolled into the BSA there is less transparency about where specific program dollars have gone.

Board members also discussed the growing share of state funding directed to scholarship and private-school programs. Concolino told the board that the Family Empowerment Scholarship and charter school funding together are reducing the share of state revenue that flows directly to traditional district schools and that scholarship students added to FEFP counts now approach 30,617 FTE, representing roughly $211 million reflected on the district’s revenue side but paid directly to private schools and therefore not retained by the district.

After board discussion, Vice Chair Bird moved the millage resolution and later moved to approve the multi-fund budget for 2025–26; both motions were seconded by Member Felder and carried unanimously. The board then approved the general fund, special revenue, debt service, capital projects and internal service fund budgets as presented.

The board’s action sets district tax rates and an initial spending plan but Concolino reminded the board that the budget remains subject to amendment during the year as final state numbers, federal grant releases and litigation outcomes are resolved.

“We must adopt a millage and approve a total amount for the budget,” Concolino said during the presentation, noting the need to keep the budget balanced amid continuing uncertainty in federal and state funding.

Board members asked staff to continue frequent updates as the district receives federal grant releases and the final FEFP calculation, and to provide clearer itemization when state policy rolls categorical funds into the BSA.

The board approved the two required steps: adoption of the total millage and approval of the 2025–26 budget.