Cherokee County school leaders present FY 2026 budget proposal; proposed millage holds at 17.95 mills

Cherokee County School District officials presented the superintendent’s recommended FY 2026 budget at the district’s first required public input session on the millage rate, saying the proposed overall millage would remain 17.95 mills — 16.45 mills for maintenance and operations and 1.5 mills for debt service.

The superintendent (name not specified) told attendees the unchanged millage, combined with an estimated 2.9% increase in the county’s total taxable property value, would raise local revenue that the district budgeted to use for teacher and staff pay, classroom resources, transportation, school nursing, technology and school safety. "The proposed total millage rate for the superintendent's FY 26 recommended budget is 17.95," the superintendent said.

Why it matters: Local property taxes now fund a majority of the district’s operating budget, the presentation said, and officials emphasized that without raising the millage they plan to direct growth in the digest toward classroom priorities and personnel costs rather than rate increases. The school board will consider the superintendent’s recommended budget — and the proposed millage — at its April 17, 2025, meeting.

Key budget figures and priorities cited in the presentation included: the district’s total proposed expenditures of $843,000,000 for FY 2026 (reported as $79,700,000 less than FY 2025), an average 3% pay increase for full‑time teachers and support staff plus step increases, adding 20 teachers to reduce fourth‑ and fifth‑grade ratios, two additional school psychologist full‑time equivalents, one additional campus security monitor for multi‑campus high schools, body cameras for school police, and increased school‑based budgets (described as an average 34% increase for classroom instruction).

Chief Financial Officer Ken Owen summarized the budget timetable and said the public input forums are part of the legal process under Georgia law that requires three public input sessions before the school board adopts a millage rate. He described actions taken during budget development: central office operating reductions (reported as a 5.2% reduction, $2.4 million), reallocations to school‑based budgets (about $1.4 million), and broader realignments (noted as $9.1 million moved from general operations to classroom and instructional supplies).

Owen also presented year‑over‑year details the district reported: salaries budgeted about $8,800,000 higher than FY 2025, benefits about $19,500,000 higher, and operations about $10,400,000 lower; the presentation said salaries and benefits would total roughly 92.2% of the budget. The district reported the building fund would be about $79,100,000 lower than FY 2025, citing completion of the Cherokee High School project and the closeout of Free Home Elementary School. Debt service was reported as about $18,900,000 less than the prior year.

Officials repeated district financial performance claims including an AA1 Moody’s rating, 11 consecutive years of unmodified audits, two internal auditors on staff, and successful federal monitoring reviews with no findings for federal programs and school nutrition operations. The presentation described the district’s long‑term growth: a rise in gross taxable value from about $2.2 billion in 1995 to an expected $24.1 billion in 2025, and a growth in tax exemptions — largely senior and homestead exemptions — from $267 million in 1995 to about $6.6 billion in 2025.

No members of the public signed up to comment during the session, and the meeting was adjourned after a brief question period from board members. The school board will review the recommended budget and take a vote on the superintendent’s recommendation at the April 17, 2025, board meeting.