The Catoosa County Board of Education on July 31, 2025, voted unanimously to adopt its fiscal year 2026 budget and to set the millage rate at 14.346, following staff presentation of final local tax-digest figures. Superintendent (unnamed in the transcript) recommended the board adopt the resolution as presented.

Board staff told members the district received a final local tax digest in mid-July. A staff presenter said, “there was a larger than expected increase in exemptions,” and that House Bill 90 this year allowed taxpayers to obtain exemptions during the appeal period; final exemption figures were available when the digest was certified around July 15–16. The presenter reported new property growth in the county of a little more than $46,000,000 and exemptions of $116,000,000, a difference the presenter described as producing a net decline in taxable value.

The budget adopted lists a total projected budget of $141,701,629 and assumes a 98% collection rate with the full rollback millage of 14.346. The staff presenter described a small shift in the ratio of state and local funding, saying the ratio “shifted by 1% to 64%, state 36%, local” (as spoken in the meeting). The budget categorizes funds into general fund (operations, salaries, utilities and transportation), special revenue (federal Title grants and state/federal special education funds, school nutrition, and program-dedicated funds), and debt service (bond principal and interest for school projects).

Staff highlighted several expenditure changes: an increase in employer health insurance contributions cited as rising from $17.60 per month per employee to $18.85 per month per employee for one classification discussed in the presentation; the noncertified employer portion was described as increasing from $15.80 per month per employee to $18.85. The presenter said the district added eight special education teacher allotments, provided salary-scale increases for bus drivers and maintenance staff, and that the budget allocates about 27.49 fewer positions across schools and the district office. Staff reported instruction comprises 68.74% of the general fund; transportation, maintenance, and school administration are among the next largest categories.

The superintendent formally recommended adoption, saying, “I do recommend that the board adopt the millage rate and budget that's detailed in the following resolution.” The superintendent noted that the FY 2026 budget was prepared using the tentative millage rate of 14.346 and that the proposed rate and five-year levy history were published in a newspaper of general circulation on July 23, 2025, “which is at least a week prior to the establishment of a millage rate,” as stated in the resolution text read at the meeting. A motion and second were made; the board chair announced, “The resolution passes unanimously.”

The action taken was the formal adoption of the FY 2026 budget and the millage rate. There was no recorded roll-call vote in the provided transcript excerpt and no named mover or seconder identified; the chair announced the vote was unanimous. The meeting moved on after the adoption and invitation for any other business.

Why this matters: the budget sets staffing levels, instructional allocations and maintenance and transportation funding for the coming school year and reflects the district’s response to late changes in taxable value and rising employer benefit costs. The district will implement the adopted budget and proceed with operations for FY 2026 under the approved millage rate and the revenue assumptions presented at the meeting.