Broward school board adopts tentative 6.4845 millage rate, approves $4.88 billion tentative budget; directs staff to model 4% pay increase

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The School Board of Broward County on July 29 adopted tentative millage rates that will raise an estimated $2.161 billion from local property taxes and approved a tentative district budget of $4,882,260,654 for fiscal year 2025–26, then directed district staff to return with a plan showing what a 4% compensation increase for employees would look like.

The board voted separately to adopt Resolution No. 26-112, setting the tentative millage at a combined 6.4845 mills (required local effort 3.072 mills; basic discretionary 0.748 mills; capital improvement 1.5 mills; voted referendum 1.0 mill; voted debt 0.1645 mills), and Resolution No. 26-113, adopting the tentative budget. Jeff Whitney, the district’s budget director, read each resolution into the record; both carried after voice votes.

Why it matters: The tentative millage exceeds the statutory rollback rate by 5.94%, triggering the Truth in Millage (TRIM) public-notice process and continuing the district toward final budget adoption in September. The board’s direction to show a 4% pay scenario puts employee compensation at the center of forthcoming budget deliberations and explicitly asks staff to identify offsets or cuts needed to fund a raise.

District presentation and key figures

Jeff Whitney, the district’s budget director, walked the board through the TRIM timeline and the revenue and expenditure assumptions underlying the tentative budget. Whitney said state calculations used in the presentation were the Department of Education’s second…