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Oconee school board adopts FY26 rollback millage, approves ELOST 7 referendum resolution
Summary
At its Aug. 4 work session the Oconee County Board of Education adopted a rollback millage rate for fiscal 2026 and approved a resolution to place a continuation of the district—s 1% sales tax (ELOST) and issuance of general obligation bonds before voters; both passed unanimously, 5-0.
The Oconee County Board of Education on Aug. 4 voted unanimously to adopt a fiscal 2026 rollback millage rate of 13.962 mills and to approve a referendum resolution to ask voters to continue the district—s existing 1% Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) and permit potential issuance of general obligation bonds.
The millage action and the ELOST referendum resolution were announced by Business Services Director Justin Adams and presented to the board as part of the district—s budget and capital planning work. Adams said the recommended rollback rate of 13.962 mills reflects the final tax digest from the Oconee County Tax Commissioner and is a decrease of 0.288 mills from last year. The board voted 5-0 to adopt the rate.
The referendum resolution, also approved 5-0, would not raise the sales tax rate but would continue the current 1% ELOST that the district uses for large technology, transportation and facilities capital projects. Adams told board members staff projects sales-tax collections will reach the ELOST cap earlier than originally projected and recommended the continuation to avoid an interruption of projects.
Why it matters: ELOST is the primary funding source for major capital work in the district. Continuing the penny sales tax would allow the district to proceed with a list of proposed projects and to use the sales-tax revenue to pay a portion of principal and interest on outstanding debt if needed.
Board and staff details: Adams told the board recent sales-tax receipts have grown faster than projected, and staff used a conservative 8% growth rate to estimate totals for ELOST 7. The presentation cited a total-project estimate of about $86,000,000 in the materials shown to the board and noted a statutory cap on collections (discussed in the presentation as about $48,500,000). Adams emphasized the proposed referendum would continue the current penny rather than increase the rate.
Operations Director Dr. David White and other staff detailed the types of projects ELOST 7 would fund if approved. Proposed items listed by staff included: 1:1 Chromebox replacement for six schools; HVAC replacements at North Oconee High School and Oconee County High School; continuing the vehicle and bus replacement cycles; field lighting, turf conversions and track resurfacing at some high school stadiums; interactive panels and network upgrades for early grades; and a variety of roofing, door, and water-intrusion repairs and renovations at several elementary, middle and high school campuses.
Adams also noted the referendum language includes the ability to pay a portion of principal and interest on the Oconee County School District general obligation bond series 2021. During discussion board members and staff exchanged estimates on the planned retirement of the 2021 bonds: staff referenced a plan to contribute roughly $13,000,000 from the general fund to retire those bonds within the originally discussed 10-year window, and a board member questioned the final maturity year (there was a brief back-and-forth in the meeting about whether the final year is 2031 or 2033).
Votes at a glance: The board—s work session recorded these formal outcomes: approval of the meeting agenda (vote recorded as passing 5-0); adoption of the FY26 millage rate at 13.962 mills (pass 5-0); approval of the ELOST 7 referendum resolution (pass 5-0); and a motion to adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel matters (pass 5-0).
