OCPS School Board reviews tentative 2020-2021 budget

Orange County Public Schools’ tentative 2020-2021 budget would be $4.18 billion, a $778.5 million drop from the 2019-2020 budget of $4.96 billion. The FY 2021 budget carries a tentative millage levy totaling 6.857, which decreased by 0.252 mills because of a decrease in the state mandated Required Local Effort millage rate. 

The OCPS School Board held its regularly-scheduled board meeting on Thursday, July 30, about the proposed budget at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. The meeting live streamed on the district’s YouTube channel. 

The tentative 2020-2021 budget is comprised of five distinct funds, as outlined in this chart from the presentation:

Millage

The tentative millage levies for the 2020-21 fiscal year total 6.857, which includes the Required Local Effort of 3.609, Basic Discretionary of 0.748, the Additional Voted Millage of 1.000, and Capital Improvement of 1.500. The proposed total millage rate is decreasing by 0.252 mills or 3.54% because of a decrease in the state mandated Required Local Effort millage rate. Because of the decrease in RLE rate and limited increase in assessed value, the owner of an average home with a just value of $217,000 would pay $17 less in school taxes per year or approximately $1.42 less per month.

The district is committed to preserving budget dollars to be prepared for any shortfalls due to the pandemic. The full presentation on the 2020-2021 budget is available to be viewed on Board Docs. The final public hearing for the FY20-21 budget is set for September 8 board meeting.

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