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Gwinnett board tentatively adopts $3.53 billion FY27 budget, holds millage rate steady
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Summary
The Gwinnett County Public Schools Board tentatively adopted the superintendent’s FY27 recommended consolidated budget — about $3.534 billion — with no increase to the property tax millage. The plan preserves reserves, reduces central office costs and allocates new dollars for pay, literacy and mental-health supports.
The Gwinnett County Public Schools Board of Education on a voice vote tentatively approved the superintendent’s recommended FY27 consolidated budget, a spending plan the district presented as balanced and student-centered and that the board advanced for final adoption following two public hearings.
Chairwoman Therese Johnson Morgan moved to tentatively adopt the budget, which the motion described as the recommended total expenditure amount of $3,534,459,092, and noted the action follows required public hearings on May 14 and May 28. The motion was seconded and passed by voice with four ayes and one nay.
District presenters said the budget holds the district’s millage rate steady — 18.7 mills for maintenance and operations and 1.45 mills for debt service — and maintains contingency reserves. “The FY27 budget is balanced, maintaining stable reserves,” the district presenter stated, adding the plan includes no millage increase and reflects months of stakeholder input, internal review and board engagement.
The consolidated budget totals presented in the meeting materials include roughly $3.53 billion across all funds and about $2.88 billion for the general fund, the district said. The general fund allocation directs roughly $2.4 billion, or about 82.3 percent, to instructional services; the presenter reported an estimated per-pupil expenditure of $16,001.56 for the general fund.
District staff described how the budget produces savings through reduced central-office costs, saying the plan eliminates about 70 vacant or nonessential central-office positions and realizes roughly $18.4 million in personnel savings plus an additional $10.9 million from non-personnel efficiencies. Staff emphasized those reductions do not affect school-based positions. “These reductions reflect our commitment to doing more with less and prioritizing classrooms first,” the presenter said.
Board members pressed staff for more detail on those central-office savings, on comparisons of teacher and substitute pay with other metro districts, and on the timeline for publishing an interactive, school-level budget report for public review. The district said an interactive reporting tool is in development, prototypes will be provided to the board, and the district expects to publish the tool on the website before the end of the fiscal year.
The budget includes targeted compensation actions: a $1,000 step increase for employees on the teacher pay scale, a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for eligible nonteacher staff, and retention supplements for assistant principals, bus drivers, certain professionals and substitutes. Staff also highlighted investments in literacy, early learning, multilingual supports, school safety and mental-health services.
Presenters stressed local revenue remains critical: they said local dollars — property and sales tax — fund significant shares of services such as classified employee health insurance, pre-K, pupil transportation and school safety. The district noted that some services depend heavily on local revenue when state support falls short.
The tentative adoption does not finalize the budget. Board members and the public will have further opportunities to comment through the two scheduled public hearings prior to final adoption.
The board adjourned after approving the tentative budget.
