- December 4, 2025
The Flagler County School Board adopted a final budget of $338,224,969 and a mandatory Required Local Effort millage rate of 3.1010 on Tuesday, Sept. 9, for the July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 fiscal year.
The RLE millage rate of 3.1010 mills, or $3.1010 per $1,000 in taxable property value, is set by the Florida Department of Education. The district’s rate has gone down for the 11th straight year.
We’re the only taxing municipality that cannot set its own millage. As our property values go up, state funding goes down, so higher property values is not actually a benefit for us.
— PATTY WORMECK, Flagler Schools chief financial officer
“We’re the only taxing municipality that cannot set its own millage,” Flagler Schools Chief Financial Officer Patty Wormeck said. “As our property values go up, state funding goes down, so higher property values is not actually a benefit for us.”
While the RLE millage rate has dropped, the amount of money the district will be responsible for in Family Empowerment Scholarships, or vouchers, has increased with 1,926 students choosing private or home school options and receiving a total of $17,095,511 in scholarship funds. In 2024-2025, 1,606 students received the scholarships totaling 14,174,041.
The district’s general fund, or main operating fund, will have an expected fund balance of $7,591,692 at the end of the fiscal year. The total general fund revenue, with a 2024-2025 estimated fund balance of $9 million, is $163,338,897, with expenditures totaling 155,747,205.
A pie chart in Wormeck’s presentation showed the vast majority of the general fund expenditures — 83% — covering employee salaries and benefits with 11% paying for purchase services.
The RLE millage rate will raise $59,673,112. Two other taxes include a capital improvement tax of 0.7480 mills generating $14,393,902 and a discretionary millage of 1.5000 generating $28,864,775.
The total millage rate exceeds the roll-back rate by 2.8%.
The board unanimously adopted the final budget and millage at a public hearing following its agenda workshop.
School Board member Derek Barrs said the two meetings would be the final board meetings that he’d attend live. He is planning to attend the Sept. 23 workshop and business meeting virtually before his resignation goes into effect on Sept. 30.
Barrs is slated to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, though that vote could be delayed. He said he would be a senior adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation pending confirmation.
