Greene County Schools board approves FY27 tentative budget expenditures; millage decision deferred to July

The Greene County Schools board voted unanimously to approve the FY27 tentative budget expenditures and deferred a decision on the millage rate until July, when the tax assessor’s digest is finalized and the district can calculate revenue impacts.

Chief Financial Officer Connie Wils presented the general fund summary for May, reporting that the district has collected roughly the majority of its expected revenues and spent about 85.13% of budgeted expenses. She said revenues exceed expenditures by about $3.3 million and the current ending fund balance is approximately $20 million, down from $22.7 million the prior month. Wils characterized the year-end projection as “a rough estimate” but said, “So we should end the year better than we had originally thought.”

Superintendent and staff framed the board vote as approval of the expenditure side of the tentative budget only; the millage (property tax) rate is legally and practically separate and will be set in July. The superintendent reviewed three millage options included in the tentative materials: keep the current rate at 9.847; raise by 0.5 mill to 10.3 (which, under the presented expenditures, would leave an estimated $112,000 shortfall that the district would cover from reserves); or raise by a full mill (estimated to generate a surplus of roughly $600,000–$700,000). The superintendent said he would recommend a 0.75-mill increase to smooth the district’s five‑year forecast and shore up reserves.

Staff provided a homeowner-impact example to illustrate the choices: “For a $500,000 home, the difference would be about $130 extra dollars if we moved up by the half mill,” and roughly $260 for a full mill; staff said a 0.75-mill change would be around $200 for that example. Board members asked procedural questions about how the July millage decision would interact with the adopted expenditures and were told an amended budget would be necessary if the board ultimately chose to keep the current millage.

The board approved the expenditure-side tentative FY27 budget by unanimous voice vote; the formal millage decision and any required budget amendments will return to the board in July once the tax digest is finalized.