Lee County Board of Education adopts FY26 budget, estimates 16.6-mill rollback for tax notices

The Lee County Board of Education on June 9 adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget and approved an estimated rollback of the county’s millage rate to 16.6 mills for tax assessment notices.

The board voted unanimously to adopt the FY26 budget after staff described it as aligned with the district’s strategic plan and focused on classroom needs, employee compensation increases, maintenance and facility upkeep, and classroom technology. "This budget includes funding to provide each teacher with a laptop to replace the standard desktop they have had in their classrooms," a staff presenter said during the meeting.

Why it matters: The budget’s classroom and compensation priorities signal the board’s near-term investments in teacher equipment and building upkeep. Advertising an estimated rollback millage rate of 16.6 mills will appear on tax assessment notices and is a procedural step before setting the final millage.

What the board approved: In addition to the budget and the millage estimate, the board approved a package of routine consent and personnel items. Those items included a districtwide HVAC network engine/software replacement negotiated at $138,085 to standardize controls and pursue energy efficiency rather than replacing units piecemeal, the creation/posting of a part-time executive director for school safety and discipline (anticipated posting on July 1 and an August start if filled), approval of primary and elementary start-time adjustments, and the nomination of Kelly Fudge to the library board. The personnel consent agenda and other consent items were approved unanimously.

Procedure and votes: The meeting followed standard procedure: prior minutes and the April 2025 financial report were approved by unanimous votes earlier in the session, there were no public commenters, and the board recessed to and returned from an executive session to consider personnel matters. All recorded motions in the meeting were approved by unanimous vote as announced by the chair.

Details and clarifications: Staff reported more than 28,240 student health visits for the year and said health personnel noted a difference between the packet’s monthly chart figure (~86%) and the staff’s 96% return-to-class figure, explaining the variance stems from parental decisions after staff recommendations. The meeting packet also lists an employee guide (FY26) with updates made to align to Georgia state code. A figure reported for "splash collections for the month of May" in the spoken record appears garbled in the transcript and was not relied on for this summary.

Next steps: The district will proceed with implementation actions described in the packet (posting the school-safety position, proceeding with the HVAC procurement as appropriate) and will publish the advertised rollback millage rate with assessment notices. The board’s next regular business meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 14, 2025.