Brevard school leaders brief board on tentative millage, state aid uncertainty and timeline

Brevard Public Schools finance directors presented a tentative outline of the district’s FY2025–26 millage and budget outlook on July 22, telling the board that state and federal funding calculations remain incomplete and that staff will use conservative assumptions until the state issues final figures.

Lede/Nut graf: Finance staff said the district received the second Florida Department of Education calculation (the second calc) and the certified tax roll but has not yet received the fourth calculation and faces continuing uncertainty about federal grant allocations. That uncertainty affects the district’s operating and capital forecasts and leaves staff asking the board to approve a process of adjustments ahead of final adoption.

Key points: - Millage structure: Staff presented the school-related millage components: required local effort (RLE) (approx. 3.062 mills), discretionary local effort (0.748 mills), voter-approved operating millage (1.0 mill voted in November 2022), and local capital options. Taken together (including voted millage and local capital levies) the district estimated a total levy on the roll of roughly 6.31 mills for the coming year, with a small numerical decrease vs. FY25 in total millage rate per the second calc staff received. - Rollback and TRIM: Staff explained that the rollback rate — the millage needed to generate roughly the same revenue as the prior year — must be compared to proposed millage under Florida’s Truth in Millage (TRIM) rules; staff said the district’s proposed millage exceeded the rollback rate and that notices of a proposed tax increase would be published before the July 29 meeting, as required. - Funding uncertainty: Finance staff said the state’s fourth calculation (which captures the most complete student membership counts) was delayed this year, and federal grant confirmations were still pending. The delayed fourth calculation complicates the required-local-effort calculation and the district’s revenue projections. - Budget trade-offs: Staff noted several internal decisions under review, including whether to transfer some prior-year capital budgets to cover operational needs such as bus drivers in the near term, while emphasizing that such transfers are not sustainable long-term measures.

What board members asked: Board members pressed for clarity about timing, contingency options and whether any transfer of capital funds would be temporary. Several members opposed using capital funds to cover recurring operational expenses and asked staff to identify alternatives.

Ending/Next steps: Finance staff will continue to update the board as state and federal figures arrive. Staff recommended the board proceed with public hearing notices under TRIM while reserving final adoption for the September timeframe after the district can incorporate the fourth calculation and any updated federal grant information.