Monroe County school board adopts 2025–26 budget, rejects change to safety millage after member warns of broken promise

The Monroe County School Board on Tuesday adopted its 2025–26 final budget and set the district'wide total millage at 2.947, approving the board'recommended operating and voted levies despite objections from a board member who said the safety and security levy should be lowered.

The board voted to set the additional operating voted millage at 0.55. The roll call for that item was 4'to'1 in favor. Board members also approved the district'wide required local effort, prior-year adjustment, basic discretionary and capital millage rates and passed the final budget resolution and annual financial report as part of the consent and subsequent action items.

Why it matters: The final millage and budget determine how the district will fund schools and operations for the coming year and whether previously promised earmarks are carried forward. During the hearing, board members and staff discussed available carryover dollars, earmarked reserves and how certain funds are accounted for.

Dr. White, executive director of finance and performance, presented the budget highlights and explained there were generally "no changes" to most slides from prior meetings, but that the hurricane reserve figure increased to $9,600,000 based on final numbers for 24'25. White also told the board the district expects about $10 million in additional state revenue, including roughly $1.5 million in FEFP adjustments and about $8 million for class-size funds.

A board member raised a sustained concern over the additional 0.05 portion of the safety and security voted millage. That member argued the district'pledge to the public when the levy was first approved required the board to lower the voted rate to 0.04 once the fund balance justified it and said they "will not vote for this budget" unless the board lowered the voted portion. School staff and other board members responded that the safety-and-security carryover is included in the overall fund balance and that many event-related security costs ("details") are currently charged at the school level from discretionary accounts, not from the district general fund.

Board discussion touched on these points: - The safety and security balance was described by staff as carried forward in the general fund balance rather than isolated as a separate line item in the general fund presentation. Staff said the slide presented a carryover estimate of about $560,000. - Some board members asked staff to calculate impacts of lowering the voted portion of the safety millage from 0.05 to 0.04; staff estimated that change would be about a $6,000 difference in the projected fund balance. - Staff reiterated that district-level salaries for SROs and district safety positions are in the budget picture; school-level security details for extracurricular events are budgeted at school internal accounts.

Formal actions recorded include: approval of the 2025'26 final millage rates (required local effort 1.047; prior-year adjustment 0.002; basic discretionary 0.748; voted additional operating 0.55; capital 0.006) and adoption of the 2025'26 final budget resolution. Votes on several items were taken by motion; where a roll call was requested the additional operating voted millage passed 4'to'1.

The board also accepted the district'year'end annual financial report for FY 2024'25 and approved transfers and budget items tied to the final budget. Several board members asked for follow'up questions and clarifications on the annual report and the hurricane reserve at the board'to'board meeting in September.

The board chair recessed the business meeting for policy public hearings and returned the budget items to action as required by the published agenda.

Sources: Budget presentation and discussion led by Dr. White; roll call recorded during the vote on the additional operating voted millage.