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Superintendent warns of roughly $28 million revenue shortfall, recommends keeping millage flat and using fund balance as bridge
Summary
The superintendent told reporters that receipt of the June 11 tax digest and the voter-approved homestead exemption (House Bill 782) reduced projected revenue, producing about $28 million less than expected; she recommended holding the millage rate flat and pursuing expenditure controls, staggered hiring and use of fund balance to bridge gaps.
The superintendent of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System told reporters the district faces a significant revenue shortfall for FY27 and recommended keeping the millage rate flat while using expenditure controls and fund balance to bridge the gap.
She said the district received the tax digest on June 11 and that the combined effect of voter-approved changes to homestead exemptions (House Bill 782), declining enrollment that reduced Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding and expired grants means the district is seeing lower revenue growth than projected. She cited one immediate calculation that the homestead exemption contributed to an $8.7 million reduction in expected revenue growth and summarized the total revenue impact as “about $28 million less than what we anticipated.”
The superintendent described the FY27 recommended budget as a bridge budget intended to stabilize operations while staff and board consider longer-term choices. “We will stay focused on solutions,” she said, describing steps already under way: tighter expenditure discipline, benchmarking staffing with similar districts, reviewing the facilities footprint, reexamining staffing models and making choices about strategic investments and cost-of-living adjustments.
On use of reserves, she said adjustments began after the district received the tax digest and that the fund balance will be used to help make up some of the shortfall while additional expenditure reductions and prioritization are implemented. She also said baseline allocations for paraprofessionals remain in place and that any additional paraprofessional hires will be staggered rather than eliminated outright.
Asked if keeping the millage flat was a vote of confidence, the superintendent said the recommendation balances taxpayer interests and student needs: “Everything that I do and have done as a superintendent is to balance both the taxpayers’ interest as well as what is best for kids.” She acknowledged the constraints would make achievement of goals harder and said the district will have to make difficult decisions in coming budgets.
The superintendent urged community partnership in addressing the gap and emphasized transparency in reporting progress. The briefing did not include a formal roll-call vote on the budget or millage; the superintendent said those decisions would be discussed at the evening board meeting.
