CFO outlines balanced 2025-26 budget plan; board schedules adoption meeting for Aug. 25

The Zapperman Municipal School District (SMSD) chief financial officer presented a draft 2025-26 budget and tax-rate plan at a joint workshop with the Daphne City Council on Aug. 5, saying the district expects a balanced budget and a slight decrease in the proposed tax rate.

The CFO said this was "workshop number 2" and that the district plans to adopt the budget at a public meeting on Aug. 25. He told the board the district's certified net taxable value rose about 3.31 percent and that the proposed tax rate will decrease by roughly "0.44cent," leaving the district's current rate at 0.6122 against a stated minimum limit of 0.6689.

Why it matters: the presentation tied several revenue and enrollment measures to the district's spending plans and borrowing needs. Trustees heard that property taxes remain the district's primary revenue source (about 81 percent of revenue in the general fund model presented), and that shortfalls in cash flow will require short-term borrowing until property-tax collections arrive in January and February.

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