Board adopts tentative 2025-26 millage rates and $598.7 million tentative budget; final vote set for September

The Martin County School Board conducted a TRIM (Truth in Millage) public hearing on Aug. 5 and approved tentative millage rates and a tentative budget for fiscal 2025-26.

Carter Morrison, the districtfinance presenter, said the proposed overall millage rate for 2025-26 is 5.727 mils compared with 5.75 mils adopted in 2024-25. The proposed rate combines the required local effort, discretionary operating millage, the additional voted millage (0.425) and the capital outlay millage. Morrison noted a scrivener's error in the resolution language that listed a 2.41 percent figure; the correct calculation is roughly 9 percent above the rollback rate given current assessed values.

Morrison illustrated homeowner examples: for a home with a $378,000 assessed value, taxes under the 2024-25 levy were $2,006.60; using a no-assessed-value-change scenario the 2025-26 taxes would be $1,998.57 (a small decrease); with the constitutional homestead cap allowed under "Save Our Homes" (3 percent), a 3 percent assessed-value increase would produce a 2025-26 tax of $2,063.69 compared with $2,006.60 previously, an increase of $57.09.

After public input (one speaker asked why taxes were not lower even though enrollment is down and property values rose), the board voted to approve Resolution 2026-01 adopting the tentative millage rates (motion by Miss Russell; second by Dr. Moriarty) by unanimous vote. The board then considered the tentative budget of $598,662,312 and approved Resolution 2026-02 (motion by Miss Roberts; second by Miss Russell), also unanimously.

Morrison summarized tentative-budget highlights: a general operating-fund reduction of roughly $4 million versus projections; capital projects budgeted at $298,340,445 (an increase driven primarily by higher taxable value against the fixed capital millage rate and by planned projects such as the Murray Middle School rebuild); food-service at $17,688,227 (a decrease as the program reduces its fund balance toward federal requirements); federal grants at $10,605,504 (lower mainly due to ARP expiration; some frozen federal funds were removed from the tentative budget pending release and will be restored in the final budget if unfrozen).

Board members asked for additional analyses to show how adjusting componentsfor example, trimming capital outlay or reducing the discretionary operating portionwould affect both tax bills and the district's revenue. Several members discussed the difference between the advertised "worst-case" tentative rates (which set the cap on what may be adopted) and final rates the board may adopt in September. The chair said the board can only lower rates at final adoption; it cannot raise them above the advertised tentative maximum.

The board adopted the tentative millage and budget to meet statutory TRIM deadlines and scheduled a final adoption hearing in September, at which board members said they may consider lowering rates to reduce taxpayer impact while preserving required funding streams.