Lee County supervisors fund advertised school allotment, set aside $500,000 from property sale for at‑risk aid; EMS and rescue squad funding discussed

The Lee County Board of Supervisors on June 18 voted to fund the school division at the advertised amount and to apply $500,000 from the sale of county property toward at‑risk student funding, while continuing discussion of emergency medical services funding and a planned reappropriation for the county rescue squad.

Board members raised concerns after county staff discovered a roughly $1,000,000 discrepancy in school budget figures supplied to the board, and officials said combined funding for schools and EMS at the proposed levels would create about a $2,000,000 deficit in the county ledger. A staff summary presented the advertised tax rate at $0.69 per $100 of assessed value; supervisors discussed using sale proceeds to cover a portion of the schools' at‑risk allocation and preserving the advertised rate.

Why it matters: supervisors and school leaders said changes in state revenue estimates and late corrections to school-provided numbers complicated local planning. County officials noted a compressed timeline for any cuts would leave little time to plan for employees and students, and several supervisors said they wanted earlier notice next year if funding will change.

Discussion and key figures - County staff said the school division's originally provided worksheet did not balance; after staff and school officials reconciled figures the county identified about a $1,000,000 discrepancy. - The item presented to the board used the advertised tax rate of $0.69 and a school funding request of $7,144,000 (referred to in the meeting as 7.144 million). - Staff warned that funding the schools at that level and also increasing support to EMS at the requested levels would create about a $2,000,000 shortfall. - A motion was made to apply $500,000 from the county's property‑sale proceeds to the schools' at‑risk allocation. The motion was seconded and approved by roll call (individual roll‑call votes were taken on the motion; several supervisors voiced yes and at least one voiced no during the roll call).

EMS and rescue squad Supervisors spent additional time discussing EMS funding. Officials noted the county had previously intended some county property for EMS use and met with local rescue personnel about near‑term needs. The board agreed that a $24,000 appropriation for the rescue squad would be handled as a reappropriation on July 1 rather than requiring immediate action during the recessed meeting; staff said the reappropriation would ensure the rescue squad is covered in the gap at the end of the fiscal month.

Process notes and closed session At the start of the agenda staff or a member made a motion and the board entered a closed session under the statutory closed‑meeting exception cited in the meeting as "2.2‑3711(a)(6)" (investment of public funds). After the closed session, the board returned and confirmed that only the matters stated in the motion were discussed in closed session. County staff also offered to provide line‑item printouts and proposed a budget workshop before the next scheduled meeting to finalize outstanding budget items.

What the board directed next Board members asked staff for updated, reconciled worksheets and said they wanted earlier notice next year if state calculations indicate major changes in school funding. The board scheduled a follow‑up recessed meeting for June 25 at 6:00 p.m. to try to finalize remaining budget items.

Ending County staff committed to providing detailed line‑item printouts before the next meeting. Supervisors left the meeting with directions to reconcile the school and EMS numbers and to present final figures at the June 25 recessed meeting.