001I call this budget hearing number two to order. First, we need to approve the agenda. I need a motion to do so. Mr. Tulle, second, Mr. Hammond. All in favor? Passes 40. Purpose of the hearing, Mr. Adams. Uh, good afternoon board members and Dr. Branch. We have a handout available at the back of the room for reference for today. I want to remind everyone of the purpose of the hearing. The Aon County Board of Education has tenatively adopted the fiscical year 26 budget. Georgia law requires that the budget be advertised after the board of education adopts the tenative budget and prior to final adoption. The board is required to hold two public hearings for the purpose of providing an opportunity for public input on the tenative budget prior to final adoption. On the screen you'll
002see our budget calendar. In April, we presented the budget review presentation and on May 12th, we had our excuse me, May 22nd, we had our first budget hearing. And on May 12th, we also adopted the budget. We presented it and adopted that day. The second budget hearing is today, May 29th, 2025, at the board meetings room at the Instructional Sports Center, 71 North Main Street in Watkinsville. Budget considerations for the fiscical year 26 budget include salary steps of 1.08 million, health insurance employer contribution of 3.08 million, the teacher retirement employer contribution of 1.1 million, and school re officer program at 2.5 million for total considerations of 7.8 million. With a continuing budget of 112.6 million and additional considerations of 7.8 million, the total budget expenditures amount to $120.5 million. Of the 125, excuse me, 120.5
003million, 88.5% of the fiscal year 26 tenative budget is salaries and benefits for staff, leaving 11 and a half% for operations of the entire district. The budget is based on an estimated roll back rate millage rate of 13.919 mills, a decrease of 2.32% over our current mill rate of 14.25 mills. This leaves an estimated unassigned fund balance on June 30th, 2025 of $24.5 million. If you add projected revenues of 119.1 million and deduct expenditures of 120.5, you come to an estimated fund balance of $23.2 million on June 30th, 2026, which is a projected 19.2% unassigned fund balance. This represents approximately two and a half months of salary and operational costs for the school district. And for comparison and best practices recommended by the department of education and standard business guidelines, they suggest maintaining three to
004six months of operational costs and reserves. And also I'd just like to note if the roll back rate is tenatively adopted, hearings on the millage rate will not be required this summer. We also have our federal fund budget for tenative for 2026 where projected revenues and expenditures are 7.6 million and federal funds account for about six six and a half% of the budget. On average, the district administers nine distinct federal grant programs each fiscal year. Again, these funds are passed through and reimbursement based with we'd like to receive them out throughout the fiscal year. The budget presentation, budget calendar, and budget documents are posted in assembly with corresponding meeting dates mentioned earlier. The board will vote on the fiscal year budget and tenative millage rate at the June 9th, 2025 board meeting. And that concludes
005my report unless the board has any questions. Questions? Thank you, Mr. Adams. Thank you, Mr. C with public communications. Thank you, Mr. Ransom. We have one Okone County resident signed up to address the board. Before I invite her up, I'll read this. Policies BCBI and BCBIR1 state that only Okone County residents or school system employees may address the board and that members of the public shall conduct themselves in a respectful manner that is not disruptive to the conduct of the board's business. The board allows three minutes for those who sign up prior to the meeting. Please state your name, address, and topic. The board requests that you refrain from making any disparaging remarks about school system personnel. There will generally be no response to comments or questions posed by citizens at the meeting. All comments
006and questions will be taken under advisement by the board. However, any board member shall be free to respond and make public comments if he or she elects to do so. To any citizen wishing to provide documents for board members, please submit them to the director of communications before the meeting or prior to addressing the board. Please remain at the podium during your public comment time. Our citizen is Pamela Hendricks. Welcome, Miss Hendris. Thank you. Um good afternoon. Um, once again, I just think we have a bloated budget for the Oak County school system. I think there's got to be places that we could cut. I grew up with a mother that her saying was, "It's not what you make, it's what you spend." And we're spending a lot and it's growing and growing and our
007enrollment is decreasing and I think it's got to stop. Um, I I wanted to just take a moment and think about taxes. Um, taxes take money out of an local economy. Um, they styy business growth. What What if everybody in Okone County had an extra $200 to spend in Okone County? That would be good for our local economy. So, every penny that you're taking out of the pocket for our school system is not going into the county. So, please think about that. I wanted to read a comment. One of my friends researched this. Per the fiscal year 24 audit, the Okone County School Board was holding 51.1 million in their pot of gold on June 30th, 2024, an increase of 6.5 million over June 30th of 2023. According to the school board's current policy adopted
008on 618 2015, the endofear unassigned fund balance is recommended to be a minimum of 10% but not more than 15% of next year's budgetary general fund expenditures. The fisc year 26 budget lists the estimated unassigned fund balance at 19.26%. A clear violation of your own policies. um in the um PowerPoint that you were presented, I want to call your attention to two, it's page four and page 14. This is what bothers me. Um on page four, it said the general fund balance for fiscal year 2025 was $114,890,755. Then it said the fiscal year 2026 continuation budget was 112,648,891. I got excited for a moment. I thought, "Oh my goodness, we're actually going down in our budget." But no, no, no, no, no. Because then we go through all this explanation of salary steps and health
009insurance increases and teacher retirement system increases and school safety increases. And what we got back here was, oh no, we got to add that 7.8 million in and our budget's really 120 million 526 304. Well, my biggest issue with this is what is this number? Where? Why is this number different than this number? We are talking about over $100 million and all you get is this line item. Do any of you know what really is in that money? Thank you. Thank you, Miss Hendricks. Mr. Ransom. That concludes public communication. Thank you, Mr. Carpet. Any further business? Yes, sir. Department of Education. It's part of their Swiss waiver that we do. We are part of and we were granted um an exemption for that particular part. So, um it it's c it's statewide they do it.
010We're not the only school system that participates in that, but we have been exempted from that. comments. We have no further business. We're adjourned.