Forsyth County Schools propose $750.5 million FY26 budget with no proposed millage increase, adds safety and staff investments

Forsyth County Schools officials presented a proposed $750,500,000 fiscal year 2026 budget at a special call meeting May 27, saying the plan would be balanced at the start of the year and would not require a millage increase if adopted.

Superintendent Dr. Young led the presentation with district finance staffer Larry Hamill, outlining a total proposed increase of about 5 percent over the current year and describing how locally controlled spending would rise by 1.54 percent while state-mandated costs drive the remainder of the increase.

The proposal would keep the district’s millage rate unchanged if adopted; the presentation said the rate would remain at 15.208 mills. "For this to go through, there would be no millage rate increases, and we would be providing a balanced budget, to start FY26," Dr. Young said. Larry Hamill said roughly 53.3 percent of the district’s revenue is expected to come from local sources and about 47 percent from state and federal sources: "So we're about 53.3, and that trend has slowly been going up in that direction for the last several years."

Why it matters: district leaders told the board the budget is intended to absorb large state-mandated increases in health insurance and Teacher Retirement System (TRS) costs while preserving a 15 percent fund balance and investing in student safety, mental-health staff, and teacher retention measures.

Most important numbers and priorities

- Total proposed FY26 budget: $750,500,000 (about a 5% increase over FY25). - Locally controlled spending increase: 1.54%. - State-mandated portion of the increase (health care and TRS): about 3.46%; staff cited a…