Forsyth County Board of Education staff on June 12 presented a proposed $750.5 million fiscal year 2026 budget that would increase overall spending by 4.99 percent while proposing no change to the district's millage rate.

Larry Hamill, who presented the draft budget during the board's special call meeting, said the district is proposing a balanced budget and that "No millage rate increases are proposed this year." He told the board the package reflects a $35.7 million increase over FY25 and that only about 1.54 percent of that increase is under local control; the remaining 3.46 percent stems from state- and federally-driven costs, including rising employee benefit expenses.

The budget presentation placed 73 percent of spending into instruction and showed salaries and benefits consuming roughly 90.4 percent of the proposed FY26 expenditures. Hamill said the draft includes $678.4 million for salaries and benefits and about $72 million for operations. He also noted a $4.5 million reservation for safety and security upgrades related to a recently passed state requirement.

Why this matters: The draft sets priorities—student support staff, safety, teacher retention and facilities—while deferring a final millage decision until certified digest numbers from the county are available. That digest controls tax revenue projections and the schedule for legally required millage hearings.

Key details and program changes
- Staffing and student supports: The budget would add school psychologists, social workers and student advocacy specialists, and create a continuous improvement coordinator and an assistant director of student services; district staff said those additions are budget-neutral due to position realignments at the central office.
- Compensation: The draft proposes a salary step for eligible staff and an added step at the end of the salary schedule to better align with Teacher Retirement System career steps.
- Safety: The budget reserves funds for threat-assessment investigators (a partnership with the sheriff's office) and for panic-alert systems needed to meet a house bill requirement taking effect in July 2026.
- Facilities and capital: The district plans to complete Mashburn Elementary School's expansion debt free using reserves set aside in prior years and anticipates SPLOST 6 revenue and transfers to cover facility work; staff proposed increasing the Mashburn reserve from $8.3 million to $10.9 million to reflect inflation.
- Revenues and fund balance: Staff estimated a net digest near $23.8 billion and a millage of 15.28 that would produce roughly $362 million in gross revenue before collection commissions. The draft forecasts an ending general fund balance near $169.5 million for the year and retains a target fund-balance policy around 15 percent.

Timing and next steps
Hamill told the board the draft will be presented again at a subsequent public meeting and that the district must wait on final tax digest numbers from the county before publishing legally required millage ads. He warned that local newspaper publication schedules and recent changes in state law have complicated posting deadlines and could push millage hearings from late June into July. "We're probably looking at it not completing the millage portion of all this until mid July, at the earliest," he said.

Board action at the special call
The board adopted the meeting agenda by motion at the start of the special call and later adjourned by motion; no budget vote occurred on June 12. The district staff said the board is scheduled to consider final approval after the required millage notices are posted.

Meeting context and public participation
The presentation occupied the public hearing portion of the meeting; no members of the public spoke during the public participation segment. Board members asked staff to compare digest and hearing schedules with neighboring counties; staff agreed to follow up. The presentation included references to state funding mechanics, the QBE (Quality Basic Education) formula and the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) as drivers of costs.

Ending
District staff will update the board and the public with final millage-hearing dates after receiving the county's certified tax digest and completing the legally required ad postings. A final budget decision is expected only after those steps are complete.