Madison County School Board adopts final millage and $36.77 million budget

The Madison County School Board on Sept. 18 approved final tax rates that set the district's total millage at 5.334 and adopted the superintendent's recommended $36,771,506 budget for the 2025–26 school year.

Board members voted unanimously on each component. Motions to adopt the required local effort (3.086 mills), discretionary operating (0.748 mills) and capital outlay (1.5 mills) all passed 5-0; the motion to levy the total 5.334 mills passed 5-0. The board also voted 5-0 to approve the superintendent's $36,771,506 budget.

The budget's presentation explained why homeowners saw higher tax bills even though the millage is slightly lower than last year. Mister Copeland, who presented the budget to the board, said the district's taxable value rose to about $1.4 billion from $1.367 billion the previous year; the district budgets its millage revenue at 96% per statute, producing an estimated $7.65 million in revenue. "These millage rates are the same that they were in the tentative budget that was published," Copeland said. He also told the board the total levy exceeds the rollback rate by 6.77 percent, a statutory calculation required for the public record.

Public commenters sought clarification about why individual bills rose. Pamela Williams, a resident of Lee, said her school portion of the bill rose by $217.68 and that the property appraiser had increased her property's assessed value by about $41,000 for 2024. "My taxes increased $217.68 from last year," Williams said. District staff directed residents with questions about appraisal values to the county property appraiser and the Value Adjustment Board for formal appeals, noting that the district does not set assessed values. Another member of the public, identified as Miss Lacey, asked the district to detail how much special-education funding comes from federal versus state sources; the board agreed staff would follow up and provide numbers.

Board discussion focused on following statutory requirements for final budget adoption and ensuring the district met the Department of Education's required local effort. Copeland emphasized the distinction between valuation (set by the property appraiser) and the millage set by the district: "The tax bill you get is the millage rate multiplied by the value that the property appraiser set," he said.

The board approved the budget and millage by recorded motions: motion and second to adopt the required local effort (3.086) (motion by Miss Gibson, second Miss Thompson) — 5-0; discretionary operating (0.748) (motion by Miss Hagen, second Miss Knight) — 5-0; capital outlay (1.5) (motion by Miss Knight, second Miss Hagan) — 5-0; total millage 5.334 (motion by Miss Knight, second Miss Hagen) — 5-0. The superintendent's budget motion (motion by Miss Hagen, second Miss Gibson) passed 5-0.

The board asked staff to provide members of the public with a one-page summary and the detailed breakdown of the adopted rates and to follow up with residents who requested information about their individual bills.

The district's adoption of the budget and millage completes the formal local steps required before publishing the final budget and filing required documents with state authorities.

Ending: The board's actions set the district's operating revenue plan for the coming year; staff said they will provide residents with additional details on appeals and funding mixes on request.