Forsyth County Schools propose $750.5 million FY26 budget with no millage increase

The Forsyth County Board of Education on May 29 heard a presentation of a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget totaling $750,500,000, a roughly 5% increase over FY25, with no proposed increase to the millage rate, presenters said.

The proposal, presented by Dr. Young and finance presenter Larry Hamill, would keep the district—s fund balance target at about 15% while directing most spending toward instruction. "This year's summary of the proposed budget... $750,500,000," Dr. Young said, and he added, "We are proposing no millage rate increases this year." Hamill summarized funding sources, saying "our local funding is about 50.3, and our state and federal is about 40.6."

The budget matters because much of the increase is driven by costs the district cannot control, presenters said. Officials told the board that $22.3 million of the year-over-year increase is tied to mandated cost pressures, with about $16.3 million specifically attributable to rising health-care premiums. Presenters said roughly $207 million of the proposed budget is allocated to health-care and retirement costs. Hamill explained that, of the budget increase, about 3.46 percentage points are mandated increases and 1.54 percentage points are locally controlled.

Under the proposal, about 73% of…