Duval school board adopts $3.24 billion tentative 2025-26 budget, sets millage rates

The Duval County School Board on July 29 adopted a tentative $3,237,770,401 budget for fiscal year 2025–26 and approved tentative millage levies that together are expected to raise $769,638,268, actions the board approved unanimously, 7-0, at a special meeting in Jacksonville.

Superintendent Doctor Bernier told the board and public that “millage is a tax rate defined as the dollars assessed for each $1,000 of value,” adding, “1 mill is $1 per $1,000.” Board members asked for clarifications on how required local effort, proration and the Family Empowerment Scholarship affect the district’s allocation and what portion of the district’s reported total is actually available to Duval County Public Schools.

The board adopted four separate millage levies as part of the tentative budget: a required local effort levy of 3.095 mills (to raise $375,536,881), a non‑voted discretionary operating levy of 0.748 mills (to raise $90,759,802), a voted discretionary operating levy of 1.000 mill (to raise $121,336,634), and a capital outlay levy of 1.500 mills (to raise $182,004,951). The combined total millage rate was announced as 6.343 mills, 3.3% above the rollback rate, which the district said would result in an average homeowner paying 3.3%…