Only one persons showed up to speak at the first of two required public hearings on the $120.5 million General Fund Budget the Oconee County Board of Education has tentatively approved for Fiscal Year 2026.
Pam Hendrix used the three minutes she was allowed to complain about increased spending when student enrollments are deceasing and about the size of the system’s cash reserves.
She had been preceded by a five-minute presentation by Chief Financial Officer Peter Adams, who told the Board that the General Fund Budget before it is based on a rollback millage rate of 13.919, down from 14.25 this year.
If the Board adopts the rollback rate, he said, property taxes will not increase and the Board will not have to hold tax hearings this year.
Only three of the five members of the Board attended the hearing–the minimum required for a quorum--and none of them responded to Hendrix.
That lack of comment contrasted with the 16-minute-long, somewhat heated, exchange Hendrix had with members of the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night when she was the only citizen to speak at the commissioners’ second budget hearing on their tentative Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
After Hendrix spoke on late Thursday afternoon, School Board Chair Michael Ransom ended the hearing, and he, Board Members Adam Hammond and Brock Toole, and Superintendent Jason Branch left the Boardroom.
The second budget hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. on May 29, also in the Boardroom of the Instructional Support Center, 71 North Main Street, Watkinsville. Final vote on the budget is scheduled for June 9.
Budget Summary By Adams
The hearing began with a summary by Chief Financial Officer Adams of the $120.5 General Fund Budget and was followed with a review of the $4.2 million Federal Fund Budget.
 |
| Adams Before Branch, Ransom, Hammond, Toole 5/22/2025 |
Adams said the $120.5 million General Fund Budget consists of a $112.6 million “Continuation Budget” and $7.9 million in what he called “Considerations,” or new spending.
The new spending is for certified and classified employees ($1.1 million), for state health insurance increases ($3.1 million), for increased contributions to the Teachers Retirement System (1.2 million), and for the new School Resource Office Program ($2.5 million).
Salaries and benefits make up 88.5 percent of the budget, Adams said, with the remaining 11.5 percent going to operations.
Adams said the budget is “based on an estimated rollback millage rate of 13.919 mills, a decrease of 2.32 percent from our current millage rate of 14.25. And again, that would be the lowest millage rate since 1992.”
“I'd also like to note,” he said, “if the rollback rate is adopted, hearings on the millage rate will not be required.”
Adams told the Board that the budget assumes a Fund Balance of $40.0 million on June 30, the end of this Fiscal Year, of which $13.5 million is committed to help retire the 2021 General Obligation Bond sold to cover the massive building program undertaken by the Board.
Another $2.0 million is assigned to purchase new school generators and intercom systems for Malcom Bridge Middle School and Oconee County Middle School, and $1.4 million will be used to balance the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, leaving an unassigned Fund Balance at the end of the Fiscal Year 2026 of $23.2 million.
Adams said the Federal Fund Budget of $4.2 million consists of pass through money, with Oconee County Schools submitting requests for reimbursement of federally funded, earmarked programs.
Hendrix Comments
Hendrix, an Oconee County attorney and political activist, began her comments by saying “I'm the only one here because this is a very difficult time of day for the public to come, and it just sort of to me indicates that you all don’t want to hear from the public.”
 |
| Hendrix Before Branch, Ransom, Hammond, Toole 5/22/2025 |
“You couldn't even get two of your Board members here at 4 p.m.” she said. Board Vice Chair Amy Parrish and Member Ryan Hammock were not present.
“I'm here to speak for the taxpayers that support our public schools,” Hendrix said, “and I feel like each of the Board members are elected to represent the taxpayers.”
Hendrix said, “it looks like in the coming year, you're expecting 98 fewer students, and yet the budget's going up $5,635,549.”
The Fiscal Year 2025 projected revenue and expenses are based on 8,451 students, while the Fiscal Year 2026 budget projects revenue and expenses based on 8,323 students, or a drop of 128 students. Anticipated expenditures increased by $5,635,549.
“We are now sending out $120 million,” she said, “yet for at least two years in a row, we dropped students. Honestly, it is hilarious.” (The Fiscal Year 2024 Budget was based on an estimated 8,683 students.)
“I mean, you've got to start tightening your budget when your student's enrollment's going down,” she said.
“Basically, Oconee County, because of the high tax rates, families can't afford to live here,” she said.
Hendrix said she also looked at the Cash Balance Report Adams had released to the Board at its May 12 meeting showing a General Fund Cash Balance of just less than $69 million.
“I don't care what your budget says, you are holding more and more and more of the taxpayer money,” she said. “That's my money that you're sitting on, and I would just like some consideration of that.”
Financial Analysis
The Cash Balance Report released by Adams at the regular Board of Education meeting on May 12 was one of his usual six financial reports to the Board.
The General Fund Cash Balance of $69.0 million was down from $70.7 million at the end of March, but, as Hendrix stated, up from $60.5 million on April 30 of 2024 and $54.6 million on April 30 of 2023.
While the county budget that Hendrix criticized at the hearing on May 20 includes revenue and expenditures for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, the budget Adams has presented does not include the Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) revenue and spending.
One of the reports that Adams presented to the Board at its meeting on May 12 showed that March revenue from the tax was $1.1 million, up from $1.0 million during that same month a year ago.
Since the beginning of the current ELOST collections in January of 2023, Oconee County Schools has collected $27.9 million, according to the reports Adams released. Collection will continue through the end of 2027, or until $48.5 million is collected.
To date, according to another of the reports released by Adams on May 12, spending to date for construction to be covered by ELOST and from the General Fund stands at $70.0 million.
At that May 12 meeting, Adams announced receipt of the Audit for 2024 for ELOST.
The Audit does not include a budget for ELOST.
Adams also announced receipt of the overall Audit for 2024.
It contains a report on gross ELOST expenditures by year, but no details on those expenditures.
Video
The video below was shot from the rear of the room, following the recording limitations set by the Board.
Oconee County Schools has not uploaded a video of the hearing to its YouTube Channel at the time of this post.
Adams began his comments at 0:18 in the video.
Hendrix came to the podium at 6:25 in the video.
No comments:
Post a Comment