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Board tentatively adopts full rollback millage; finance staff outlines digest growth and grant risk
Summary
At a July work session the Carroll County Board of Education voted 6-0 to adopt the full rollback rate as the tentative 2025 millage; finance staff outlined the preliminary digest, a roughly $1.5 million possible federal grant impact and next steps in the millage timeline.
Carroll County Board of Education members at a July work session tentatively adopted the full rollback millage rate for 2025, voting 6-0 to set the rollback as the board—s tentative rate. The tentative adoption allows the district to move forward with the statutorily required advertising and preserves the option to lower the rate before the board—s final vote.
The move matters to taxpayers and the district—s budget: Finance staff reported the preliminary 2025 tax digest rose by $177,300,000 from 2024, with roughly 75% of that growth attributable to real growth and 25% to reassessment. The calculated rollback rate is 16.077 mills compared with the current rate of 16.259 mills. Finance staff said the difference between the two rates represents about $44 per learner and about $21 per average homestead taxpayer annually, based on an average homestead value of $300,000.
In the board—s presentation, finance staff also summarized the May financials and federal grant risk. For May the general fund reported roughly $13.2 million in revenues and $16.3 million in expenditures for the month, with a reported fund balance around $46.3 million after adjustments and approximately $2.8 million in outstanding purchase orders. On federal grants, finance staff said the best current estimate of funds impacted by a recent federal funding "freeze" is approximately $1,500,000; that figure represents about 0.5% of the district—s total budget, about 6% of the district—s federal revenue line, and roughly 13% of Department of Education federal grants when drilled down.
Board members discussed the tradeoffs of lowering the millage and the delayed state-equalization effects that can follow lower local millage levels. Finance staff reminded the board that if the board sets the tentative rate equal to the rollback rate, the district will not be required to hold the extra public hearings that apply when a tentative rate exceeds the rollback rate. The board is scheduled to set the final millage on Aug. 21, 2025.
"Based on the information we have at this time, those are the rough estimates. Dollar wise, worst case scenario, that estimate is, you know, $1,500,000 impacted," finance staff said during the presentation. Superintendent Coward and other board members urged the board to adopt the rollback; after a motion and second the board voted 6-0 to adopt the full rollback as the tentative rate.
The district will publish the required five-year history and other notices as required by state law and will return to the board for a final rate decision in August.
