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% more in school taxes this year.

Board members asked staff to explain technical funding concepts to the public. Bernier explained that required local effort (RLE) is the portion of funding a district must raise through local property taxes to qualify for state funds under the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). Bernier also described proration: if the state sets a fixed total education budget and a district reports increased full‑time equivalent (FTE) students, the state may not fully fund that increase and will prorate the available state dollars across districts.

On the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES), Bernier and district staff said the budget documents include an allocation labeled FES that effectively “passes through” the district; the board does not receive those dollars for district operations. Bernier said that the House and Senate propose differing amounts for the scholarship program during the legislative budgeting process and that final allocations are determined later in committee work; as a donor district Duval’s local effort interacts with that process and the district’s reported allocation can include amounts the district ultimately does not receive.

Formal motions and roll calls accompanied each item. The board approved (7-0) adoption of a tentative budget totaling $3,237,770,401, with line items the superintendent read into the record: general operating $1,599,769,427; special revenue $251,881,807; debt service $237,440,743; capital outlay $940,688,654; internal service $205,933,218; enterprise $1,983,262; plus smaller trust and in‑service amounts noted in the documents.

The board also adopted a resolution (Resolution No. 2026-01) adopting the tentative millage rates and a separate resolution (Resolution No. 2026-02) adopting the tentative budget. The board scheduled the required second public hearing and final budget/millage adoption for Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, at 5:05 p.m. at the School Board Administration Building.

Public comment periods were opened for each public‑hearing item; no members of the public spoke on the tentative millage or the tentative budget at the July 29 hearing.

Votes at a glance

- Agenda approval (amendment noted): Passed, 7-0. - Required local effort millage (3.095 mills; amount to be raised $375,536,881): Passed, 7-0. - Non‑voted discretionary operating millage (0.748 mills; amount to be raised $90,759,802): Passed, 7-0. - Voted discretionary operating millage (1.000 mill; amount to be raised $121,336,634): Passed, 7-0. - Capital outlay millage (1.500 mills; amount to be raised $182,004,951): Passed, 7-0. - Resolution 2026-01 (tentative millage rates): Passed, 7-0. - Tentative budget adoption (total $3,237,770,401): Passed, 7-0. - Resolution 2026-02 (tentative budget): Passed, 7-0. - Final millage/budget hearing date set for Sept. 11, 2025, 5:05 p.m.: Passed, 7-0. - Acceptance of 2025 Certification of School Taxable Value for Duval County (Form DR-420S) and authorization for the superintendent to execute: Passed, 7-0.

The board meeting packet and the superintendent’s budget presentation include the numerical details read into the record. The district said the tentative budget and millage rates were advertised in the Florida Times‑Union on July 26, 2025, and that the second required public hearing will be noticed via a district mailing from the property appraiser’s office prior to the Sept. 11 meeting.

For the public record, Bernier read the statutory notice that the total millage is more than the rollback rate by 3.3%, and board documents show the total amount to be raised for all levies as $769,638,268. The board’s unanimous votes moved the district to the next public hearing and final adoption steps required under Florida law.