By Tracy McCormick-Dishman

The Nassau County School Board unanimously approved tentative millage rates and a $318.2 million budget during a special meeting July 28, setting the stage for final approval at a September 9 public hearing.
The board approved a tentative tax rate of 6.291 mills, which represents a 5.75 percent increase from the rollback rate of 5.949 mills but remains below last year’s rate of 6.3291 mills.
“The rollback rate is the rate that if set by the board would generate the same revenue in dollars as the previous year,” explained Finance Director Ellen Harper, who led the board through the required statutory explanation of the rates.
The approved millage consists of three components: a required local effort millage of 3.043 mills, a discretionary millage of 0.748 mills, and a capital improvement millage of 1.500 mills. Additionally, the board approved maintaining the voter-approved additional millage of 1.000 mill, which was approved by voters for four years and is not scheduled for renewal consideration until January 2026.
Board member Joe Zimmerman expressed concerns about taxpayer burden, advocating for potential reductions to the capital improvement millage to provide relief to residents.
“I do think that taxpayers are hurting,” Zimmerman said. “If there’s an appetite at the board, I would support reducing this a little bit.”
However, the district’s attorney cautioned against reducing the capital millage, citing potential impacts on the district’s bond rating and future borrowing capacity.
“That’s tied in with the bonding that y’all are doing to raise funds,” said Nassau County School Board attorney Brett Steger. “Lowering the capital outlay millage affects our ability on the bond and what rates that we can get significantly.”
The district faces financial challenges, with Superintendent Dr. Burns noting losses exceeding $6 million due to student enrollment declines related to family empowerment programs. Additionally, the district is awaiting $686,000 in federal funding that was expected but not yet received, though recent communications suggest those funds may be released soon.
The tentative budget includes reductions to individual school allocations, with cuts ranging from $17,000 to $83,000 depending on the school. These reductions affect discretionary funds schools use for supplies and materials beyond what the district provides centrally.
“This is basically the schools’ funds to use for all those other things outside of what we don’t provide,” Dr. Burns explained. “We anticipate that this will change before we get to the final budget because we know we’ve got to add some back to them.”
The meeting also addressed an unrelated change order for West Nassau High School’s football field renovation, approving an additional $35,511 for drainage issues required by the permitting agency. The original project was approved in February for $1.3 million, though the actual contracted amount was $1.5 million including contingency funds.
Finance Director Harper will prepare analysis for the August workshop showing potential impacts of reducing the capital millage to 1.25 or 1.0 mills, should the board wish to consider such changes before the final hearing.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for September 9 at 6 p.m. at the school board office at 1201 Atlantic Avenue in Fernandina Beach.
“This is really just to set the ceiling, give the board the most amount of room,” Steger explained. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to end there.”