Hillsborough board approves budget amendments after state reduces district allocation by $18.3 million

The Hillsborough County School Board on Aug. 22 approved budget amendments after Jamie Lewis, the district's chief financial officer, said the state's third funding calculation reduced the district's March allocation by $18,300,000.

Lewis told the board that the $18.3 million reduction breaks down into several elements: about $9.3 million tied to changes in full-time-equivalent student counts; roughly $2 million related to how last year's FTE finalized; about $2.8 million due to a millage-compression adjustment; and a $4,103,273 proration assessed statewide by the Florida Department of Education. "Our portion of that was $4,100,000 and that is just because of what's the funding needs for the whole state in general and they kinda disperse it," Lewis said.

Why it matters: Lewis said the district had adopted a fund reserve of $283 million, or 15.5 percent of the operating general fund, and that the March adjustment would lower that estimate to about $266 million, or 14.5 percent. He warned the board the drop illustrates why the district maintains a healthy fund balance to manage midyear changes such as hurricane response or state reallocations. Lewis also noted the district expects further data from the state's next calculation and that some of the reduction might be recovered if the district's spring counts rise.

Board members pressed staff for details. Member Gray asked for the specific deduction tied to the state's proration; Lewis replied: "$4,103,273 is what they adjusted." Members also asked whether related trends'including charter-school adjustments and growth in the Family Empowerment Scholarship program'could further affect the district. Lewis said charter allocations in the third calculation declined about $25.1 million and that the Family Empowerment Scholarship showed a $19.2 million increase at the county level; he emphasized those figures did not directly change the district's budget but shape the broader fiscal landscape.

The motion to "approve budget amendments for the period ending 02/28/2025 and 03/31/2025" was moved by Member Perez and seconded by Member Washington and passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff said Survey 3 counts and a fourth state calculation are expected within weeks and the cabinet is focusing on budget management to "finish the year strong," Lewis said. The board asked staff to return with follow-up analysis tying the adjustments to attendance and suspension windows that affect counts.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the public meeting record and include their roles and first on‑record appearance.