Superintendent presents FY2027 tentative budget, warns of $10M fund-balance use and enrollment loss

Byron Jones, the superintendent, presented the Griffin-Spalding County Board of Education's FY2027 tentative budget at a public hearing on April 14, saying it "totals approximately $192,000,000" and that the district expects to use roughly $10 million of its fund balance to cover a projected revenue–expenditure gap.

Jones said the budget is intentionally limited in new initiatives and is focused on maintaining services: "This budget has very little initiatives in it. It's really about, I'll say, surviving the revenues that we're gonna get from either the county or the state and trying to do better with what we've got." He told board members and the public the board had been given a 100–150 page budget book with detailed assumptions and line-item information.

Why it matters: Jones warned that enrollment declines will reduce state QBE (Quality Basic Education) funding next year. He reported the district's FTE count is expected to fall from about 8,961 to about 8,581—"around about 300 to 400 student loss"—which will reduce state allotments and increase pressure on local finances. Jones said…