Highlands County school board adopts tentative millage rates and $200.8 million tentative budget; members press DOE for clarification

The School Board of Highlands County on July 29 adopted tentative millage rates and a tentative budget for fiscal year 2025–2026 while several members urged staff to seek written clarification from the Florida Department of Education on what, if any, discretion the board retains.

At the public hearing Business Operations Director Angelica Tinajero said the required local effort millage rose from 3.096 to 3.104 — an increase of 0.008 — and that, for a property assessed at $100,000, the change equates to roughly $1. "The required local effort millage increased from 3.096 to 3.104, which is an increase of 0.008," Tinajero said. She also told the board the total millage rate to be levied is 10.11% more than the rollback rate computed under state law, and that certified property appraised values had increased about 14.82%.

The board adopted Resolution No. 2526-01 to set tentative millage rates and Resolution No. 2526-02 to adopt the tentative budget. The district’s tentative budget total is $200,844,603 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. Tinajero read figures in the resolutions showing the general fund levy and capital levies used to compute the district’s revenue estimates.

Why it matters: the millage and…