Indian River County School Board authorizes TRIM notices, moves to advertise tentative 2026–27 budget

The Indian River County School Board on July 14 voted unanimously to authorize the superintendent to publish TRIM (truth-in-millage) draft notices and advertise the proposed tentative 2026–27 budget and millage rates, the board chair said at a special meeting held at the Joe and Idellet Junior TEC.

The vote, recorded as 5-0, approves running three draft advertisements — a notice of tax increase, a capital outlay ad and a budget summary — consistent with Florida Department of Revenue TRIM requirements and the timeline the district must follow after the Indian River County property appraiser certifies assessed values.

The action matters because state certification of taxable values can change draft numbers; under state law districts must publish notices when the combination of millage and assessed-value changes produces additional dollars compared with the prior year. The district’s chief financial officer, Bruce Green, told the board staff expects certified valuations around July 19, will update the ad templates if millage or values change, and plans to publish the ads in the TC Palm on July 24 so they run the required three days before the board’s first tentative budget meeting and public hearing on July 27.

"We will notify the board of any changes," Bruce Green said, describing the schedule for publication and the district's internal update process.

Green walked the board through the three drafts before them. The first is the statutorily required notice that alerts the public to a tax increase when assessed value growth would generate more revenue than last year. The second is a capital outlay ad that must list anticipated projects from the district’s five‑year capital plan and a maximum number of buses the district might purchase (the draft lists 10 as a maximum). The third is a budget summary that lays out millage components and fund-level totals.

Green said the district’s draft total budgeted dollars for 2026–27 is roughly $430 million (compared with an ending figure near $420 million last year and earlier estimates of about $412 million). He attributed most of the increase to debt-service planning (including an approximately $8 million payment the district expects next summer), about $1.2 million in restricted impact-fee receipts that are not immediately spendable, state-driven increases in allocations (an $85-per-student increase reflected in the FEFP calculation) and a state requirement to provide up to a $3,000 base increase for eligible full‑time classroom teachers, which Green estimated at roughly $1.1 million. He also said the district set aside approximately $2 million to stabilize the health-insurance fund so it will end the fiscal year nearer to zero.

"A budget is the dollars in each account that's getting budgeted at the beginning," Green said, stressing that some increases are reflected in the district’s accounting but are not necessarily discretionary operating dollars.

Board member Dr. Rosaria asked staff to add a clear "draft for discussion purposes and subject to change" stamp to the budget summary and tax-increase notice, as had been done the prior year; Green confirmed staff will add an explicit stamp in addition to the watermark already on the drafts.

Board members praised district staff for preserving fund balance and preparing for the coming year; Dr. Jones noted the district has kept reserves that avoid the deeper cuts some districts have faced. Board discussion also covered the status of capital projects, with Green saying three to four single-point-of-entry renovations are expected to finish next year and that several capital-plan items will be adjusted or rolled forward.

The chair moved to approve advertising the proposed tentative 2026–27 budget and millage rates and to authorize the superintendent to make final adjustments after certification; the motion was seconded and passed 5-0. Earlier in the meeting the board had approved one consent agenda item for personnel.

Next steps: staff will update the draft ads when certified valuations arrive (expected around July 19), share any changes with the board, publish the ads in the TC Palm on July 24 and hold the district’s tentative budget workshop, business meeting and public hearing on July 27. All figures in the ads are draft and subject to change pending certification.

(Reporting note: the district identified the county property appraiser and the Florida Department of Education as the certifying authorities for assessed values and the TRIM timelines.)