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Board approves short-term tax anticipation note and advertises tentative budget amid cash-flow concerns
Summary
Hillsborough trustees authorized a short-term tax anticipation note (TAN) to bridge the district's cash-flow timing gap and voted to advertise the tentative 2026–27 budget and millage rates; members pressed staff on charter-school disbursements, interest costs, and impacts on investments.
The Hillsborough County School Board approved a short-term tax anticipation note (TAN) on July 14 to manage cash-flow timing between July expenditures and property-tax receipts later in the fiscal year, and authorized the district to advertise its tentative 2026–27 budget and proposed millage rates.
Chief Financial Officer Jamie Lewis described the TAN as a practical, short-term liquidity tool—used by many districts—that would bridge the gap between July operating expenses (including payroll obligations) and the bulk of property-tax receipts, which typically arrive later in the fiscal year. "This request is not driven by budgetary concerns or revenue shortfalls, but rather by the timing of when the district receives a significant portion of its operating revenues," Lewis said.
Board members concentrated questions on two related pressures: the district's decision to front-load referendum-related salary enhancements and the requirement to provide charter schools their portion of referendum funds early. Member Vaughn asked whether charter schools receiving early funds are obliged to pass those payments along to staff immediately; staff said charter boards determine how they use the revenues and the district's role is to disburse the funds. "That would be a fair statement," a staffer later said when asked whether the district could be paying interest to supply funds that charters may not immediately forward to employees.
Members also asked whether taking a TAN would hurt the district's bond rating; staff reported conversations with rating agencies and described the TAN as common practice. Staff said the TAN maturity would occur within the fiscal year and that the tool avoids emergency liquidation of investments and provides better investment control.
The board approved the TAN and passed preliminary steps to advertise the tentative budget and millage rates; staff announced public hearings for July 28 (public first hearing) and September 15 (final hearing). CFO Lewis also summarized April and May budget amendments (mainly special-revenue grant reconciliations) and described a modest projected statewide base-student-allocation increase of roughly $85 per student (about a 1.6% increase) for the coming year.
Board members requested additional transparency on charter disbursements, interest costs associated with the TAN, and comparisons to other districts' approaches to paying referendum dollars. The district said it would return with more details and continue to use its fund balance to smooth operations while reducing disruption to services.
