Board hears budget update as tax digest delay leaves millage and revenues uncertain

Finance staff presented a revised general-fund budget forecast June 4 to the Board of Public Education and told members the district’s revenue projections remain uncertain because the Chatham County tax digest and final state and federal figures have not yet been received.

Paige Cooley, a finance staff member, told the board the district originally projected 10% local growth in Chatham County but has been told informally that growth will be about 7.05 percent; she said the assessor’s office emailed that information but has not yet provided formal documentation. Cooley also said the state projection supplied earlier remains unchanged and that federal amounts remain uncertain.

The revised general-fund revenues shown on the slide deck are $657,500,000 and general-fund expenditures $659,500,000, leaving increased reliance on a use of fund balance estimated at $1,900,000. Cooley said the district has adjusted several line items in response: reducing the charter-school allocation estimate, changing the teacher vacancy-factor assumptions to reflect recent hire patterns, lowering the utilities estimate to $9,200,000 for fiscal 2026, and increasing the overall vacancy factor to account for currently unfilled positions.

Why it matters: the county tax digest determines local revenue available to the district and the digest delay — which staff tied to House Bill 581 — leaves the board unable to set a final millage rate. Board members discussed the timing of required public notices and the effect of any millage decision on the district’s investments and fund balance.

Board discussion and next steps

Board members asked for more historical detail about projected versus collected millage revenue. Doctor Ringman asked staff to produce the slide showing several years of projections compared with actual collections; Ringman said the board has rolled back millage in prior years and wants data showing whether the district typically over- or under-collects. Cooley and other staff said they use the numbers provided by the county assessor when available and that delinquency estimates are the primary source of year-to-year variance.

Several board members asked specific questions: Miss Grabowski asked whether start-up funds are needed for swing sites (staff answered no, because swing sites already in use); Mister Smith asked how start-up amounts for new campuses are determined (staff said historical costs and a flat-rate approach based on school size, e.g., $500,000 for elementary, $750,000 for high school); Doctor Howard Hall asked whether federal program staff had received guidance on next year’s federal funds (staff said no final information yet and that Miss Sukhonic, who handles federal programs, had not received notifications).

Scheduling and adoption timeline

Cooley said because the county digest is delayed the board must shift its meeting schedule: a tentative adoption presentation was made at the informal meeting, staff plan to hold meetings on June 17 (with both an 11 a.m. and a 6 p.m. session) and to adopt the final budget and millage at a public meeting on Wednesday, June 25 at 6:30 p.m., assuming the county provides digest figures in time.

What was not decided

No formal vote was taken at the informal meeting. Board members discussed options — including lowering the millage rate — but Cooley and other staff warned that reducing the millage without offsetting levers would require increasing use of fund balance or changing planned program investments. Staff agreed to provide the historical project-versus-collection data for the board’s millage discussions.

Ending

Staff emphasized the tentative nature of the numbers until the county assessor and state provide final figures. The board set a path for further review and scheduled meetings that would permit final adoption after receipt of the tax digest and any updated state/federal figures.