Clay County School Board approves advertisement of tentative 2025-26 millage and budget amid state, federal funding shortfalls

Clay County School Board approved advertising its tentative 2025-26 millage rates and budget on July 22, voting 4-0 to place required public notices and set public hearings after a board presentation and lengthy staff briefing. The board’s action begins the statutorily required notice period for a tentative millage and budget that the district must publish before two public hearings; the first hearing was scheduled for July 29 at 5:05 p.m. at the Teacher Training Center at Fleming Island High School. Board members and staff said the budget is unusually constrained because of late state calculations and recent funding changes from state and federal sources. Chief Financial Officer Dawn Posey told the board that the Florida Department of Education’s late FEFP calculations and a prior-period adjustment produced a required local effort (RLE) of 3.024 mills that the district must levy to receive approximately $252 million in state education funding. Posey said the RLE includes a…