Forsyth County schools financial report shows lower month-end cash, improved collections
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Summary
Finance presenter Larry Hamill told the board the district started January 2026 with roughly $318–$319 million and ended the month at about $301.3 million, noted year-to-date expenditures of about $457.5 million (59.82%), and said several tax and transfer revenues came in stronger than prior months.
At the Feb. 17 Forsyth County School Board meeting, finance presenter Larry Hamill reviewed the district’s January 2026 financials and flagged collection improvements alongside lower month-end cash balances.
Hamill said the district started the month with “about $318–$319 million” in cash and ended January at “about $301.3 million.” He compared those figures to the same point last year (about $309.7 million) and said that both cash and fund balances were approaching last year’s levels as expenses slowed and revenues picked up.
On year-to-date spending, Hamill reported expenditures of roughly $457,500,000, representing 59.82% of budget for the fiscal year to date. Instruction continues to account for the largest share of spending; Hamill cited a January instruction figure of about $61,200,000.
Hamill highlighted stronger-than-expected collections from intangible and real estate transfer taxes and said January collections totaled about $6.5 million — “about 16% higher than the previous month and about 2.7% higher than the previous year,” he said. He also said the district’s debt-service cash balance is about $10.7 million.
Hamill discussed SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) accounting: he said SPLOST 6 balances are being drawn down as planned and that, at the current collection pace, the district expects to begin collecting SPLOST 7 in January 2027 if trends hold.
Board members asked clarifying questions about school-level fund balances and how some high school accounts reflect reserved funds for items such as AP exam fees; Hamill explained that many large school balances include pass-throughs for tests, clubs and scheduled disbursements rather than discretionary reserves.
Hamill concluded by noting investment and capital project balances and said some figures vary from last year but remain within expected patterns for the district’s budget cycle.
