Hillsborough board adopts 6.34‑mill tentative rate, approves $4.4 billion tentative budget amid teacher‑pay debate

The Hillsborough County School Board on July 29 adopted a proposed total millage rate of 6.34 mills and approved a tentative fiscal 2025–26 budget that shows about $4.4 billion in total revenues. The board voted to set the tentative millage and budget after a public hearing and adopted the necessary resolutions; final adoption is scheduled for Sept. 9.

The board’s finance team said the proposed 6.34 mills includes the required local effort, a 0.748 discretionary operating millage, a 1.50 local capital millage and a voter‑approved 1.00 mill. Jamie Lewis, the district’s chief financial officer, told the board the figures are tentative and based on the second state calculation; a fourth state calculation is still pending and officials expect to refine numbers before final adoption.

The school district estimated the proposed millage would cost the owner of a $200,000 house (after the $25,000 homestead exemption) roughly $1,109.50 in school property taxes. Lewis said the district expects to remove $48 million from the general fund to qualify for self‑insurance and projected a roughly 10 percent ending fund balance for 2025–26 after that change. He warned the numbers are subject to change as the district completes year‑end close and receives additional state calculations.

Why it matters: the tentative budget and millage set the tax and spending framework for the year and determine how much local revenue the district will collect. At the same meeting, dozens of teachers, support employees and union leaders pressed the board to direct more money toward salaries and one‑time payments, saying long‑running statewide funding shortfalls and rising costs are leaving many school staff with low take‑home pay.

Union leaders and school employees urged the board to prioritize raises. Rob Crete, president of the Classroom Teachers Association, warned the board that the district budgets far more for instructional salaries than it ultimately spends and urged leaders to move those dollars into pay rather than into reserves. "You guys are budgeting for so many employees that we don't have," Crete said during employee comment, arguing the savings should go to current staff. Britney Wegman, executive director of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, said the association welcomed the budget’s increase in instructional salary lines and asked the board to approve raises in upcoming negotiations.

Board members debated the appropriate level of reserves during the meeting. Several members and financial staff defended a roughly 10 percent fund balance as a prudent buffer for risks such as insurance cost increases, possible changes to state funding and storm response. "A healthy fund balance allows the district to not have to make rapid decisions when something unexpectedly happens," Lewis said. Other members and public speakers said the district could deploy more of its reserves to improve teacher and staff compensation immediately.

What the board did: the board approved the proposed millage rates and the tentative 2025–26 budget at the meeting and authorized staff to complete TRIM (truth‑in‑millage) compliance tasks under Florida Statute chapter 200. The motions were approved by roll call and passed unanimously. The board scheduled the final public hearing and adoption for 5:01 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2025.

Next steps: the proposed rates and budget are tentative. The district will revise amounts as final state calculations and year‑end accounting close; the board may change the figures at the final September hearing.