Oconee County holds second public hearing on tentative FY26 school budget

The Oconee County Board of Education held its second required public hearing on the tentative fiscal year 2026 budget on May 29, 2025 at the Instructional Sports Center in Watkinsville. Board members reviewed projected revenues and expenditures, a proposed rollback millage rate and specific cost increases for salaries, benefits and school safety; the board will vote on the final budget and tentative millage rate at its June 9 meeting.

The hearing covered the district’s tentative continuation budget of $112,600,000 and $7,800,000 in additional considerations — yielding total proposed expenditures the presenter described as $120,500,000. Line items called out during the presentation included salary steps of $1,080,000; employer health-insurance contributions of $3,080,000; teacher retirement employer contributions of $1,100,000; and a school resource officer program cost of $2,500,000. The presenter said salaries and benefits account for about 88.5% of the tentative budget, leaving roughly 11.5% for operations.

The presenter said the budget is based on an estimated rollback millage rate of 13.919 mills, a 2.32% decrease from the current rate of 14.25 mills. The presentation projected an unassigned fund balance of $24,500,000 on June 30, 2025 and, after estimated revenues of $119.1 million and expenditures of $120.5 million, a projected unassigned fund balance of $23,200,000 on June 30, 2026 — about 19.2% of next year’s budget. The presenter noted that Department of Education and business guidelines commonly recommend maintaining reserves equal to three to six months of operating costs.

The presenter also summarized federal funds for the district: a tentative federal budget of $7,600,000, representing about 6 to 6.5% of the overall budget, and stated the district typically administers nine distinct federal grant programs during a fiscal year.

During the public-comment portion of the hearing, Oconee County resident Pamela Hendricks criticized the size of the district’s fund balance and questioned whether the tentative FY26 figures complied with the board’s policy. Hendricks said, “We have a bloated budget for the Oconee School System…our enrollment is decreasing. And I think it’s got to stop.” She referenced the fiscal year 2024 audit and said the district was holding $51,100,000 on June 30, 2024, an increase of $6,500,000 from the prior year, and that board policy recommends an unassigned fund balance of a minimum of 10% but not more than 15% of the next year’s general fund expenditures. Hendricks asserted the FY26 estimate of 19.26% “is a clear violation of your own policies,” and asked the board to explain differences between lines in the presentation.

No formal action on the FY26 budget or millage rate was taken at the hearing; the presenter said the board will vote on the fiscal year budget and tentative millage rate at the June 9, 2025 board meeting. At the start of the meeting the board approved the meeting agenda by motion (recorded as passing 4–0).